John   Sv.-ett 


1kellog0'0  Zcnchcve'  %xbxax% 

Vol.  III.     :   '  \  ^    iiy: 


TALKS  ON   TEACHING 


By.  FRANCIS  W.  PARKER, 

PRINCIPAL  COOK   COUNTY  AND   CHICAGO  NORMAL  SCHOOL  ; 

AUTHOR  OF   "talks   ON   PEDAGOGICS,"    "  HOW  TO   STUDY  GEOGRAPHY,' 

"suggestions   ON  TEACHING  LANGUAGE,"   ETC. 


REPORTED   BY   LELIA   E.    PATRIDGE. 


FIFTEENTH  EDITION.    FROM  NEW  PL  A  TES. 


NEW  YORK  AND  CHICAGO  : 

E.    L.    KELLOGG    &   CO 

1896, 


Copyright,  1883, 

By  LELIA  E.  PATRIDGE. 

Copyright  transferred,  1893, 

To  FRANCIS  W.  PARKER. 

EDUCATtON  DEF^ 


ROBERT  DRUMMONO,   KLKCTBOTVPKB  AND  PRINTKR,   NKW  YORK. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  :  Sketch  of  Col.  Parker's  Work 5 

TALK  I.— Preliminary 15 

Technical  Skill 19 

TALK  II.— Reading 22 

TALK  IIL— Reading.— The  Word 26 

TALK  IV.— Reading.— Sentence 31 

TALK  v.— Reading.— Script 86 

TALK  VI.— Reading.— Phonics ' 41 

TALK  VII.— Reading.— Application  of  Principles 49 

TALK  VIII.  —  Reading.  —  Application    of    Principles.       {Con- 
tinued. ) 56 

TALK  IX.— Reading.— Application  of  Principles.    {Concluded.).    62 

TALK  X.— Spelling 67 

TALK  XI.— Writing 71 

TALK  XII.— Talking  with  the  Pencil 76 

TALK  XIII.— Talking  with  the  Pencil.    {Continued.) 79 

TALK  XIV.— Composition 86 

TALK  XV.— Number 92 

TALK  XVI.— Number.     {Continued.) 100 

TALK  XVIL— Arithmetic 108 

TALK  XVm.— Geography 117 

TALK  XIX.— Geography.     {Continued.) 123 

TALK  XX.— Geography.     {Continued.) 130 

TALK  XXT.— Geography.     {Concluded.) 185 

TALK  XXIL— History 140 

TALK  XXIII.— Examinations  147 

TALK  XXIV.— School  Government 154 

TALK  XXV.— Moral  Training 164 

f>4  5  ;122 


INTEODUCTION. 


Theke  is,  perhaps,  no  name  more  widely  known  among  the 
teachers  of  this  country  than  that  of  Col.  Francis  W.  Parker. 
The  results  of  his  supervision  of  the  Quincy  schools  have  made 
him  the  most  talked  of,  if  not  the  most  popular,  educator  of  our 
time.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  him  or  his  work — and  it 
would  be  idle  to  deny  that  opinions  differ  regarding  both — he  is 
acknowledged,  even  by  his  opponents,  to  be  one  of  those  who  are 
destined  to  mould  public  opinion.  Concerning  such  the  world 
is  always  curious.  We  desire  to  know  their  history,  their  en- 
vironment, that  we  may  judge  their  power. 

Kemembering  this,  I  have  thought  that  something  of  the  man, 
as  well  as  his  methods,  might  prove  interesting  to  the  readers  of 
the  ^*  Notes."  I  have,  therefore,  persuaded  Col.  Parker  to  give 
me  the  salient  points  of  his  life,  more  especially  those  that  bear 
upon  his  career  as  a  teacher,  and  these  I  have  thrown  into  shape 
and  order  in  the  sketch  which  follows. 

Francis  Wayland  Parker,  born  October  9th,  1837,  in  the  town 
of  Bedford  (now  Manchester),  N.  H.,  came  of  a  race  of  scholars 
and  teachers.  His  great-grandfather  on  his  mother^s  side  was 
Librarian  of  Harvard  College,  and  a  class-mate  of  Hancock. 
His  mother  taught  for  several  years  before  her  marriage,  show- 
ing marked  originality  in  her  methods;  and  all  her  children 
were  born  teachers. 

5 


6  Introduction, 

From  earliest  childhood  he  thought  and  talked  of  being  a 
teacher.  It  was  always  his  dream,  and  his  one  ambition.  His 
father  dying  when  Francis  was  but  six  years  old,  at  eight  the 
boy  was  bound  out,  according  to  New  England  phrase,  that  is, 
apprenticed  to  a  farmer  till  he  was  twenty-one.  But  nature  was 
too  strong  for  circumstance.  A  farmer  he  could  not,  would  not 
be,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  broke  his  bonds,  and  started 
out  into  the  world  for  himself.  Without  money,  influence,  or 
friends,  for  he  had  angered  his  relatives  by  this  move,  he  strug- 
gled on  for  the  next  four  years,  doing  whatever  he  could  find  to 
do,  and  going  to  school  whenever  opportunity  offered.  Then 
he  put  his  foot  on  the  first  round  of  the  ladder;  he  obtained  his 
first  school.  It  was  at  Corser  Hill,  Boscawen  (now  Webster),  and 
he  was  paid  fifteen  dollars  per  month. 

This  venture  proved  successful,  though  many  of  his  pupils 
were  older  than  their  teacher,  and  some  (he  says)  knew  more. 
The  next  winter  he  taught  at  Over-the-Brook  in  the  town  of 
Auburn,  for  seventeen  dollars  a  month,  and  "boarded  around." 
From  this  time  his  services  were  in  such  demand  in  the  town 
that  he  taught  not  only  the  winter  schools  for  the  next  three 
years,  but  opened  a  **  select  school"  on  his  own  account  during 
the  autumn  months.  One  term  of  teaching  in  Hinsdale,  and 
one  in  the  grammar  school  of  his  native  village,  ended  his  work 
in  New  England  for  several  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1859  he  received  a  call  to  the  principalship  of 
the  graded  school  at  Carrollton,  111.,  and  there  he  remained  till 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  the  spring  of  1861.  Finding, 
then,  that  loyalty  to "  the  Union  was  the  one  qualification  in  a 
school-master  for  which  they  had  no  use  in  that  vicinity,  he  re- 
igned his  position  before  his  committee  had  fully  decided  that 
they  wished  for  it,  and  was  immediately  offered  a  better  one  with 
;i  higher  salary  at  Alton,  111.  This  ho  declined  and  started  for 
llie  East,  where  he  at  once  enrolled  as  a  private  in  the  Fourth 


Introduction.  7 

New  Hampshire  Eegiment  just  forming.  He  fought  all  through 
the  war,  became  lieutenant,  captain,  lieutenant-colonel,  and 
brevet-colonel.  He  was  wounded  in  the  throat  and  chin  at  the 
battle  of  Deep  Bottom,  August  16th,  1864,  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  confederates  at  Magnolia,  N.  C,  and  released  just  as  peace 
was  declared.  Then  with  the  remnant  of  his  regiment  he  re- 
turned to  New  Hampshire,  and  was  mustered  out  of  service 
August,  1865. 

At  the  call  of  his  country  he  had  left  the  school-room ;  now 
she  required  his  services  in  the  field  no  longer.  Where  next  ? 
Many  ways  were  open  to  his  choice.  Military  preferment,  po- 
litical office,  excellent  business  positions  were  offered  to  him  at 
this  time,  but  he  declined  them  all.  His  passion  for  teaching 
was  too  strong  for  these  to  tempt  him.  He  never  wavered  for  a 
moment,  not  even  when  his  best  worldly  interests  seemed  to  be 
at  stake.  A  teacher  he  was  born,  a  teacher  he  would  live  and 
die.  He  accepted  the  principalship  of  the  North  Grammar 
School  of  Manchester,  N.  H.,  at  a  salary  of  eleven  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  held  the  position  for  three  years.  From  there  he  went 
to  Dayton,  Ohio,  in  1869,  to  take  charge  of  the  school  in  Dis- 
trict No.  1.  Here  he  had  the  supervision  not  only  of  the  gram- 
mar grades,  but  of  the  primary;  and  now  his  primary  work 
began.  He  had  all  along  had  his  own  way  of  doing  things,  and 
had  from  the  very  first  his  conception  of  how  teaching  should  be 
done.  Indeed,  he  tells,  with  some  amusement  at  his  own  au- 
dacity, that  when  only  eight  years  old  he  rose  in  school  one 
day  and  informed  the  teacher  that  he  didn't  know  how  to  teach! 
Even  war,  with  all  its  horrors,  did  not  wholly  absorb  his  mind 
from  its  favorite  theme.  Often,  as  he  sat  before  the  camp-fire, 
or  lay  in  his  tent  at  night,  he  studied  how  the  mind  grows,  and 
planned  many  of  the  methods  which  have  since  made  him  fa- 
mous. It  was  in  Manchester,  where  he  used  to  work  all  day, 
and  then  spend  half  the  night  preparing  for  the  next,  that  he 


8  Introduction. 

first  began  to  apply  his  theories.  But  in  the  primary  schools  of 
Dayton  he  felt  for  the  first  time  that  he  had  begun  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  great  work  of  mind  development.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  he  became  principal  of  the  Dayton  Normal  School,  a 
position  he  held  for  two  years,  being  then  elected  assistant 
superintendent  of  the  city  schools. 

No  one  who  steps  out  of  the  beaten  track  can  walk  long  in  his 
new  path  unchallenged.  To  desert  the  old,  to  fail  in  respect  for 
the  traditional,  to  imply  that  customary  ways  of  doing  things 
might  not  be  the  best  ways,  is  treason,  and  high  treason.  This 
Col.  Parker  was  made  to  feel,  and  feel  keenly.  Though  a  sol- 
dier, he  loved  peace  better  than  war,  but  he  began  to  see,  as 
time  weat  on,  that  his  fighting  days  were  not  yet  over.  More 
and  more  he  found  himself  antagonizing  the  convictions  of  his 
fellow-teachers,  as  day  by  day  he  grew  away  from  the  time- 
honored  traditions  of  his  vocation.  They  would  not  agree  to 
his  views,  he  could  not  agree  to  theirs;  and  one  party  must  be 
in  the  wrong — which  was  it  ?  Where  did  truth  lie  ?  It  would 
seem  with  the  majority.  But  he  would  not  give  up  what  seemed 
to  him  so  clearly  right  without  reasons.  He  would  consult  the 
highest  authorities  in  the  art  of  teaching,  and  learn  if  he  were 
wrong.  Accordingly,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  he  went  to  Germany, 
and  entered  King  William's  University,  at  Berlin,  for  a  two 
years'  course  in  philosophy,  history,  and  pedagogics. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  his  opinions  found  confirmation  strong 
in  that  centre  of  intellectual  development;  and  he  returned  to 
his  native  land  eager  for  an  opportunity  to  put  his  theories,  now 
fully  fledged,  into  practice.  When  it  comes  to  pass  in  this  world 
that  the  right  man  finds  the  right  place,  we  have  a  way  of  say- 
ing, **TIow  very  providential!"  as  if  affairs  were  only  occasion- 
ally under  tlie  care  of  Providence.  But  it  was  certainly  a  sin- 
gularly happy  coincidence  that  just  about  this  time  one  of  the 
most  intelligent  school  committees  of  these  United  States,  lo- 


Introduction.  9 

cated  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  made  a  discovery  which  forced  them  to 
a  conclusion,  and  that  in  turn  decided  them  to  make  an  experi- 
ment. Their  discovery  was  that  after  eight  years  of  attendance 
in  the  public  schools  ^^the  children  could  neither  write  with 
facility  nor  read  fluently ;  nor  could  they  speak  or  spell  their  own 
language  very  perfectly."  Their  conclusion  was  ^^that  the 
whole  existing  system  was  wrong — a  system  from  which  the  life 
had  gone  out.  The  school  year  had  become  one  long  period  of 
diffusion  and  cram,  and  smatter  had  become  the  order  of  the 
day." 

[It  is  not  to  be  understood  by  this  that  the  Quincy  schools 
were  any  worse  than  the  average,  but  merely  that  they  had  a 
committee  intelligent  enough  to  comprehend  their  true  condi- 
tion.] 

Acting  on  this  conclusion,  they  had  decided  to  try  to  remedy 
matters.  But  they  were  busy  men,  not  specialists  in  education, 
and  wise  enough  to  know  that  they  were  unequal  to  this  difficult 
and  delicate  work.  Thus  they  had  come  to  the  decision  to  find 
some  one  to  do  it  for  them.  They  would  try  the  experiment  of 
having  a  Superintendent  of  Schools.  That  committee  found  the 
man  they  sought  in  Francis  W.  Parker.  So  Col.  Parker  went 
to  Quincy,  and  nothing  since  the  time  of  Horace  Mann  has 
created  such  a  sensation  as  his  five  years'  supervision  of  those 
schools. 

Said  his  committee  in  their  report  after  he  had  left  them: 
"  For  five  years  the  town  had  the  benefit  of  his  faithful,  intelli- 
gent, and  enthusiastic  services.  In  these  years  he  transformed 
our  public  schools.  He  found  them  machines,  he  left  them  liv- 
ing organisms ;  drill  gave  way  to  growth,  and  the  weary  prison  be- 
came a  pleasure-house.  His  dominant  intelligence  as  a  master, 
and  his  pervasive  magnetism  as  a  man,  informed  his  school- work. 
He  breathed  life,  growth,  and  happiness  into  our  school-rooms. 
The  results  are  plain  to  be  seen  before  the  eyes  of  every  one, 


16  Introduction. 

solid,  substantial,  unmistakable.  They  cannot  be  gainsaid,  or 
successfully  questioned."  Said  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr.,  in 
his  paper  on  the  ^'  New  Departure  in  the  Common  Schools  of 
Quincy  ":  ^'  The  revolution  was  all-pervading.  Nothing  escaped 
its  influence;  it  began  with  the  alphabet,  and  extended  into  the 
latest  effort  of  the  grammar-school  course.  So  daring  an  experi- 
ment as  this  can,  however,  be  tested  in  but  one  way — by  its 
practical  results,  as  proven  by  the  experience  of  a  number  of 
years,  and  testified  to  by  parents  and  teachers.  Out  of  five  hun- 
dred grammar-school  children,  taken  promiscuously  from  all  the 
schools,  no  less  than  four  hundred  showed  results  which  were 
either  excellent  or  satisfactory,  while  its  advantages  are  ques- 
tioned by  none,  least  of  all  by  teachers  and  parents.  .  .  .  The 
quality  of  the  instruction  given  has  been  immeasurably  im- 
proved. " 

Such  a  success  as  this,  heralded  abroad  by  the  thousands  who 
visited  the  Quincy  schools,  could  not  fail  to  bring  advancement 
in  its  train.  Accordingly,  when  in  1880  Boston  gave  the  coun- 
try superintendent  a  call  to  ''come  up  higher,"  and  be  one  of 
its  supervisors,  he  accepted,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  time  of 
service  (two  years)  was  re-elected  for  a  second  term.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1882,  Col.  Parker  received  an  urgent  call  to  the  principal- 
ship  of  the  Cook  County  Normal  School  (just  outside  Chicago), 
at  a  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars ;  and  later,  the  same  year,  was 
offered  the  superintendency  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  at  a  still 
higher  salary.  In  December  he  resigned  his  position  in  Boston, 
and,  yielding  to  his  overmastering  desire  to  teach,  declined  the 
office  of  superintendent,  which  Philadelphia  would  gladly  have 
i^qven  him,  and  accepted  instead  the  charge  of  the  Normal  School 
in  Illinois.  The  first  day  of  January,  1883,  he  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  principal  of  the  Cook  County  Normal  School,  where  he 
is  now  working  with  all  his  characteristic  force  and  spirit. 

With  greater  opportunities  than  have  ever  been  granted  to  him 


Introduction,  it 

before,  witli  an  experience  broadened  and  deepened  by  the  fail- 
ures and  successes  of  the  past,  with  his  old-time  energy  and  en- 
thusiasm no  whit  abated,  we  have  faith  to  believe  that  the  future 
will  show  results  which  shall  make  what  he  has  done  in  the  past 
seem  but  the  crudest  of  beginnings.  L.  E.  P. 


TALKS  ON  TEACHING 


TALK   I. 


PRELIMINARY. 


I  SHALL  try  in  these  lessons  to  help  you  learn  j^ttitude  of 
more  of  the  great  art  of  teaching.  "We  have  come  tSward^the 
from  widely  different  sections,  and  are,  for  the  most  ^°^^' 
part,  strangers  to  each  other,  and  may  find  it  a  little 
difficult  at  first  to  draw  together.  But  a  common 
interest  will  unite  us  in  the  bonds  of  sympathy  and 
good-fellowship.  We  have  all  seen  teachers  who 
were  so  self-satisfied  that  they  seemed — to  their  own 
minds — to  have  rounded  the  circle  of  teaching, 
made  the  circuit  of  knowledge  and  skill  complete, 
and  closed  their  minds  against  the  entrance  of  all 
further  impressions.  Such  can  never  learn  till  the 
barriers  of  conceit  behind  which  they  have  in- 
trenched themselves  are  broken  down.  There  are 
others,  the  opposite  of  those  just  described,  who 
stand  like  empty  pitchers  waiting  to  be  filled ;  they 
accept  any  and  all  methods  which  are  popular,  or 
have  some  show  of  authority.  Such  teachers  are 
imitators  merely,  and  will  change  when  any  novelty 

15 


i6  Talks  on  Teaching, 

is  brought  to  their  notice.  Ko  one  was  ever  great 
by  imitation;  imitative  power  never  leads  up  to 
creative  power.  Just  here  let  me  say  that  I  shall 
object  quite  as  strongly  to  your  taking  unquestioned, 
the  methods  which  I  may  present,  as  I  should 
to  your  acceptance  of  others  in  which  I  do  not 
believe. 
Foundation  Again,  there  are  teachers  who  have  some  good 
.r^true  judg:-  ^^yg^  \^^i  ^j^q  ^pg  g^^  prejudiced  that  they  have  no 

regard  for  anything  outside  their  own  work; 
they  cling  to  the  old,  have  a  ready-made  objection 
to  the  new,  and  have  ceased  to  examine.  Facts  are 
the  eyes  through  which  we  see  laws.  There  is  no 
better  founded  pedagogical  rule  than  that  the  facts 
must  be  known  before  generalizations  can  be.  It 
follows,  then,  logically,  first,  that  we  cannot  know 
which  is  the  better  of  two  methods  without  know- 
ing both ;  second,  that  we  cannot  know  which  is 
the  best  without  knowing  all ;  and,  third,  that  we 
cannot  know  any  method  without  knowing  the 
principles  which  the  method  applies.  Finally,  no 
one  can  fairly  judge  a  method  by  seeing  it  in 
operation  once  or  twice,  because  the  application 
may  not  be  correct,  and  that  cannot  be  judged 
unless  the  foundation  principles  are  known. 
Price  of  sue-  The  great  difficulty  in  the  way  is  that  teachers 
are  not  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  genuine  success 
— that  is,  untiring  study  in  the  most  economical 
directions — hard  labor.  The  demand  for  good 
teaching  was  never  so  great  aa  now,  and  no  matter 
where  you  are  if  your  work  is  good  it  will  attract 
attention. 


Preliminary.  17 

I  liave  been  often  asked  to  explain  the  so-called  The  Qrincy 
Quincy  system.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  it  is. 
understand  this  system,  it  does  not  consist  of 
methods  with  certain  fixed  details,  but  rather  pre- 
sents the  art  of  teaching  as  the  greatest  art  in  all 
the  world ;  and  because  it  is  the  greatest  art  de- 
mands two  things :  first,  an  honest,  earnest  investi- 
gation of  the  truth  as  found  in  the  learning  mind 
and  the  subjects  taught;  and,  second,  the  coura- 
geous application  of  the  truth  when  found.  In  the 
talks  which  follow  the  only  real  substantial  help  I 
can  give  you  is  to  aid  you  in  such  investigation. 
All  the  truths  that  you  may  learn  must  be  dis- 
covered by  yourselves.  In  this  way  alone  truth  is 
made  a  living  power.  J^othing  is  farther  from  my 
present  purpose  than  to  have  you  take  what  I  shall 
say  without  the  most  careful  scrutiny.  The  great 
mass  of  teachers  simply  follow  tradition,  without 
questioning  whether  it  be  right  or  wrong,  and  it 
requires  very  little  mental  action  to  glide  in  the  ruts 
of  old  ways. 

The  work  of  the  next  hundred  years  will  be  to  break 
away  from  traditional  forms  and  come  back  to  natural 
methods. 

Every  act  has  a  motive,  and  it  is  the  motive  which    False  and 

.  true  motives 

colors,  directs,  forms  the  action.  Consequently,  if  we  0^  education, 
would  understand  the  educational  work  of  to-day, 
we  must  know  its  motive,  bearing  in  mind  the  fact 
that  due  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  stupefying 
effects  of  long-established  usage.  The  motive  com- 
monly held  up  is  the  acquisition  of  a  certain  degree 
of  skill  and  an  amount  of  knowledge.     The  quantity 


1 8  Talks  on  Teaching, 

of  skill  and  knowledge  is  generally  fixed  by  courses 
of  study  and  the  conventional  examinations.  This 
is  a  mistake.  In  contrast  with  this  false  motive  of 
education,  to  wdt,  the  gaining  of  skill  and  knowl- 
edge, I  place  what  I  firmly  believe  to  be  the  true 
motive  of  all  education,  which  is  the  harmonious 
development  of  the  human  being,  body,  mind,  and 
soul.  This  truth  has  come  to  us  gradually  and  in 
fragments  from  the  great  teachers  and  thinkers  of 
the  past. 

Definition  of  ^  It  was  two  hundred  years  ago  that  Comenius 
said,  ' '  Let  things  that  have  to  be  done  be  learned 
by  doing  them. ' '  Following  this,  but  broader  and 
deeper  in  its  significance,  came  Pestalozzi's  declara- 
tion, ' '  Education  is  the  generation  of  power. ' ' 

End  and  aim  Last  of  all,  Summing  up  the  wisdom  of  those  who 
had  preceded  him,  and  embodying  it  in  one  grand 
principle,  Froebel  announced  the  true  end  and  aim 
of  all  our  work — the  harmonious  growth  of  the 
whole  being.  This  is  the  central  point.  Every 
act,  thought,  plan,  method,  and  question  should  lead 
to  this.  Knowledge  and  skill  are  simply  the  means, 
and  not  the  end,  and  these  are  to  work  toward  the 
symmetrical  upbuilding  of  the  whole  being.  An- 
other name  for  this  symmetrical  upbuilding  is 
character,  which  should  be  the  end  and  aim  of  all 
education.  There  are  two  factors  in  this  process : 
first,  the  inborn,  inherited  powers  of  the  mind; 
and,  second,  the  environment  of  the  mind,  which 
embraces,  so  far  as  the  teacher  is  concerned,  the 
subjects  taught.  The  subjects  taught,  then,  are  the 
means  of  mental  development. y 


Preliminary,  19 

To  aid  in  the  mind's  development  the  teacher    what  the 
must  know,  first,  the  means  of  mental  and  moral  ^ow!^  ^^^ 
growth,  which  are  found  in  the  subjects  taught; 
and,  second,  the  mental  laws  by  which  alone  these 
means  can  be  applied.     Knowing  the  mind  and  the  ^ 
means,    he  can  work   toward   the   end,    which  is 
growth.     Method  is  the  adaptation  of  means  of 
growth   to   mind    to   be   developed,    and   natural 
method  is  the  exact  adaptation  of  means  of  growth 
to  mind  to  be  developed.     To  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  the  mind  and  of  the  means  by  which  the  mind 
may  be  developed  is  the  study  of  a  lifetime.     Let 
us  stand  with  humility  before  immensity. 

In  the  beffinnine:,  then,  the  study  of  methods    stndy  of 

.,      .  .      .    -.^    .       -.  '     ,  "^T         .  T       principles  in- 

aside  irom  principles  is  01  little  use ;  thereiore  that  dispensawe. 
investigation  should  lead  to  a  knowledge  of  princi- 
ples is  all-important.  There  are  two  lines  of  inves- 
tigation :  The  direct  one  is  the  study  of  mental  laws, 
or  the  investigation  of  the  facts  out  of  which  the 
generalization  of  principles  is  made.  The  second, 
and  indirect,  way  is  the  study  of  the  application  of  * 
methods  in  detail  in  order  to  discover  through  such 
details  the  principles  from  which  they  spring.  Let 
no  teacher  rest  satisfied  with  a  study  of  the  mere 
details  of  methods,  but  use  them  as  illustrating  and 
leading  back  to  principles. 

TECHNICAL    SKILL. 

In  order  to  train  children  how  to  do  we  must  be 
able  to  do  ourselves ;  hence  the  great  importance  of 
that  preparation  on  the  part  of  a  teacher  which  will 
result  in  skill  in  the  technics  of  school  work.     First 


In  singing. 


20  Talks  on  Teaching. 

Vocal  cnitnre.  of  all  the  voice  should  be  trained,  for  a  clear  mu- 
sical voice  is  one  of  the  teacher's  most  potent  quali- 
fications for  success,  and  cannot  be  overrated.  Drill 
in  phonics  is  necessarv,  not  onlv  to  ffain  the  abilitv 

DriU  in         .        .        .i        i  "         .     .       *^    .  ,  ,       .  , 

piionics.  to  give  the  slow  pronunciation  with  ease  and  with 

natural  inflections,  but  as  an  aid  to  perfect  articula- 

Trainin   in  *^^^  ^^^  pronunciation.     That  every  teacher  should 

rej^in|  and  be  an  expressive  reader  is  self-evident,  but  it  might 
not  occur  to  all  that  to  be  an  eloquent  talker  is  also 
one  of  the  requisites  demanded  by  the  New  Meth- 
ods. Faults  of  tone,  modulation,  and  manner  are 
propagated  by  the  teacher,  as  well  as  false  syntax 
Cultivation  ^^^  incorrect  pronunciation.  Then,  too,  every 
teacher  should  be  able  to  sing,  and  sing  well.  Music 
fills  the  air  with  beauty,  and  in  the  school-room 
everything  should  be  quiet  and  musical,  with  never 
a  harsh  note.  Failing  in  this  the  school  lacks  har- 
Practice  in  mony.  Writing  is  the  second  great  means  of  lan- 
guage expression,  and  should  follow  immediately  up- 
on talking.  A  teacher  who  cannot  write  well  cannot 
teach  writing  well ;  for  the  copy  on  the  blackboard 
should  be  well  nigh  perfect.  Skill  is  the  expression 
of  power,  and  drawing  is  the  second  best  way  of 
expressing  thought.       Given  the  skill  to  draw  anci 

drawing.  a  teacher  is  never  helpless,  for  then  he  can  teach, 
even  if  everything  else  is  taken  away.  Besides,  I 
see  a  future  in  drawing  which  I  see  in  nothing  else 
in  the  way  of  developing  the  mental  powers ;  hence 
the  demands  made  upon  teachers  for  knowledge  and 
skill  in  this  art  must  increase  with  every  year. 
Learning  to  Moulding  in  sand  is  one  of  the  best  possible  ways  to 

monld  in  sand  ,1  1  1111  1  i* 

and  clay.        tcach  geographer,  and  should  precede  map-drawing. 


penmanship. 


Exercise  in 


Preliminary,  21 

Moulding  in  clay  is  a  valuable  means  of  form-teach- 
ing, and  is  also  the  best  of  preparations  for  drawing. 
Last  of  all,  gynmastics — the  training  of  the  whole  Ggmnastic 
body — is  of  the  utmost  importance,  note  only  to  in- 
sure symmetrical  physical  development,  but  to  aid 
in  the  estabhshment  of  good  order.  Mental  action, 
as  you  know,  depends  largely  upon  physical  condi- 
tions, and  therefore  we  should  train  the  body  that 
the  mind  may  act.  Believing  that  the  skill  of  the 
teacher  in  these  directions  measures  in  a  great  de- 
gree his  power  to  do  good  work,  I  have  endeavored 
in  this  course  of  lessons  to  provide  you  with  the  best 
of  teachers  for  these  different  departments.  Now,  a 
word  of  caution  :  Time  and  strength  are  both  limited, 
therefore  don't  try  too  much;  but  that  you  may 
become  experts  in  these  technical  matters  let  me 
add,  whatever  you  do  try,  be  sure  to  follow  it  up. 


TALK    II. 

EVADING. 

In  the  teaching  of  any  subject  it  is  of  great  im- 
importance   portance  that  we  have  a  clear  definition  of  what  we 
*  teach.      Not  a  definition  in  words  alone,  but  a  defi- 
nition in  thought  that  comprehends  what  we  teach 
in  the  most  definite  manner.     The  question  before 
"^^t  is       us  is,  What  is  reading?     The  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion that  I  shall  give  is,  Reading  is  getting  thought 
by  means  of  written  or  printed  words  arranged  in 
sentences.     Thought  may  be  defined  as  ideas  in  re- 
lation.    Ideas  are  either  sense  products,  or  deriva- 
tions from  sense  products.     We  get  thought,  first, 
by  seeing  objects  in  their   relations;   second,  by 
thinking  of  things  in  their  relations  without  their 
presence ;  third,  by  seeing  pictures  or  drawings  of 
objects  in  their  relations ;  and,  fourth,  by  language. 
How  we  get  We  get  thought  by  language  in  two  ways :  first, 
**^'  *         by  the  spoken  language,  and,  second,  by  the  wntten 
or  printed  language.     To  illustrate,  I  put  this  hat 
upon  the  table.     Here  you  see  the  relation  of  two 
objects,  and  you  think,   The  hat  is  on  the  tahU.     I 
draw  or  sketch  the  hat  on  the  table,  and  it  brings  to 
your  mind  the  thought.  The  hat  is  on  the  tahU.     I 
say,  ''  The  hat  is  on  the  table,"  and  you  thhik  the 
same.     I  write  on  the  board  the  sentence.  The  hat 
is  on  the  tahle^  and  that  conveys  to  your  mind  tlie 


Reading,  23 

same  ideas  in  their  relations.  Thus  we  get  the  same 
thought  in  four  ways ;  the  only  difference  in  the  re- 
sult is  that  the  thought  gained  from  seeing  objects 
in  their  relations  is  generally  clearer. 

Hearing  language  is  getting  thought  by  means  Difference 
of  spoken  words  arranged  in  sentences.  Eeading,  ^gTSgu^g^" 
as  I  have  said,  is  getting  thought  by  means  of^  "^  ^* 
written  or  printed  words  arranged  in  sentences. 
It  would  be  well  for  us  to  examine  these  two  oper- 
ations, hearing  language,  and  reading,  in  order  to 
see  in  what  they  are  alike,  and  in  what  they  differ. 
The  arrangement  of  words  in  sentences,  that  is,  the 
idioms,  are  precisely  alike.  The  thought  in  the 
mind,  gained  either  from  hearing  language  or  read- 
ing, is  identical.  The  only  difference  lies,  then,  in 
the  fact  that  in  one  case  the  word  is  spoken,  and 
in  the  other  it  is  written  or  printed.  I  am  sure 
you  have  said,  as  I  have  given  my  definition,  that 
reading  is  the  oral  expression  of  thought.  That  is 
oral  reading.  But  you  will  see  at  once  that  we  Definition  of 
may  get  thought — and  by  far  the  greater  part  of 
reading  is  confined  to  this  process — and  not  give  it 
to  others  by  means  of  the  voice.  If  we  compre- 
hend oral  reading  in  our  definition,  we  should  say 
that  reading  is  the  getting  and  giving  of  thought 
by  means  of  words  arranged  in  sentences. 

Not  less  in  importance  to  the  definition  of  read-     preparation 
ing  is  the  thorough  knowledge  of  the  preparation  Sr  reaing.^ 
a  child  has  made  for  learning  to  read,  how  he  has 
made  it,  and  exactly  what  is  to  be  done  in  learning 
to  read.     This  may  be  briefly  stated  thus :  First,  a 
child  has  acquired  ideas  from  the  external  world  by 


24  Talks  on  Teaching, 

means  of  his  senses.  Second,  lie  knows  the  ideas 
in  tlieir  relations,  that  is,  he  has  thoughts.  Third, 
the  child  has  associated  spoken  words  with  these 
ideas.  Fourth,  he  has  associated  idioms  or  fonns 
of  sentences  with  his  thoughts.  Fifth,  he  has 
learned  to  utter  these  words  and  idioms  in  order  to 
express  his  thoughts.  Tliis  is  a  brief  sunnnary  of 
the  process  of  learning  to  talk.  How  he  has  done 
this  will  be  discussed  in  another  place.  Exactly 
haTto  do^to  what  the  child  has  to  do  in  order  to  learn  to  read 
learn  to  read.  ^^^^  ^^  clearly  stated  thus :  The  ideas  that  he  has 
associated  with  spoken  words  are  to  be  associated 
with  written  or  printed  words.  If  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, this  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  learning  to 
read. 
The  cwid's  Oral  reading  may  be  further  defined  as  the  vocal 
sion.*^*"*"  expression  of  thought  that  is  gained  by  written  or 
printed  words.  A  child  has  already  learned  to  ex- 
press thought  orally  by  means  of  five  or  six  years' 
continual  practice.  The  emphasis,  inflection,  and 
melody  of  most  children's  voices  can  rarely  be  im- 
proved. The  child  should  be  trained  in  no  new 
way,  then,  of  expressing  thought  in  oral  reading. 
Unfortunately  the  beauty  and  strength  of  what  the 
child  has  already  gained  is  entirely  ignored,  and  a 
new  and  very  painful  process  of  oral  expression  is 
Fimction  of  initiated.  "Wliat  is  the  use  of  oral  reading?  Talk- 
ing enables  us  to  see  the  thought  in  the  child's 
mind;  oral  reading  to  the  teacher  has  no  other 
use.  Oral  reading,  then,  enables  the  teacher  to 
know  whether  the  thought  is  in  the  child's  mind  in 
its  fulness,  strength,  and  intensity.      If,  however, 


Reading.  ^5 

the  long  preparation  of  the  child  in  talking  is  over- 
looked, and  a  new  and  stumbling  process  of  slowly 
pronouncing  words  is  begun,  the  indispensable 
function  of  oral  reading  is  entirely  destroyed. 
The  thought  may  or  may  not  be  in  the  child's 
mind,  his  half -groaning  utterances  never  reveal 
the  fact. 

What  is  the  use  of  reading?  We  return  to  our  xhe  use  of 
definition  :  Reading  is  getting  thought  by  means  of  ^®^*  reading. 
written  or  printed  words  arranged  in  sentences. 
Comprehensively  stated,  reading  opens  to  the 
mind  all  the  learning  and  erudition  of  the  past. 
To  the  teacher,  however,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, for  reading  is  thinking,  and  thinking  is 
the  mind's  mode  of  action ;  and  all  mental  develop- 
ment is  rightly  directed  toward  action.  Study  of 
text-books,  then,  if  it  differ  from  reading,  the  dif- 
ference may  be  found  simply  and  solely  in  inten- 
sity. In  study  the  thought  gained  may  be  clearer 
and  more  complete  than  in  mere  reading.  You  importance 
can  judge  for  yourselves,  then,  fellow- teachers,  of its^o^freadicT 
what  immense  importance  it  is  for  the  little  child 
to  form  correct  habits  of  reading ;  and  you  know 
by  experience  how  easily  incorrect  habits  may  be 
cultivated,  habits  that  will  dishearten  a  child  in  his 
attempts  to  read,  and  make  words,  instead  of  being 
clear  mediums  of  getting  thought,  actual  barriers 
to  the  truth  they  were  intended  to  convey. 


TALK   III. 

READING. THE   WORD. 

How  child       The  child  at  five  years  of  ae:e  lias  acquired  ideas 

acquires  the     .  '^  .     ^  ^  ,        .  , 

spoken  word,  m  tlieir  relations,  has  associated  spoken  words  with 
these  ideas,  and  idioms  with  the  thoughts  or  related 
ideas.  The  process  of  learning  to  read,  then, 
must  consist  of  learning  to  use  the  written  and 
printed  word  precisely  as  he  has  used  the  spoken 
words.  Learning  to  read  is  learning  a  vocabulary 
of  written  and  printed  words,  so  that  the  child  may 
get  thought  through  the  eye  as  he  has  done  through 
the  ear.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  the  teacher 
of  little  ones  to  know  just  how  the  child  acquires  the 
The  law  of  spoken  words.     The  process  is  a  very  simple  one ; 

""^^  °^*  an  object  is  presented  and  the  word  spoken.  Tliat 
is,  the  idea  produced  by  the  object  and  the  spoken 
word  are  associated  in  one  act  of  the  mind,  which 
we  call  an  act  of  association.  We  all  know  that 
only  by  means  of  a  mysterious  mental  law,  called 
the  law  of  association,  are  we  enabled  to  recollect 
anything.  Words  are  used  under  this  law  to  re- 
call ideas.  The  word  recalls  an  idea  after  a  cer- 
tain number  of  repetitions  of  these  acts  of  associa- 
tion. In  the  same  way  related  ideas  are  associated 
with  idioms  or  sentence-forms. 

26 


Reading. — The  JVord,  27 

Every  act  of  the  mind  is  affected  by  some  stimulus    The  mental 

•^  '^  stimulus. 

or  mental  excitement  coming  eitlier  from  without  or 
within  the  mind.  As  a  rule,  the  greater  the  stim- 
ulus the  more  effective  the  act.  The  little  child, 
for  instance,  sees  an  elephant  for  the  first  time. 
The  sight  of  the  huge,  strange  beast  stimulates 
the  mental  action  of  the  child  to  an  unwonted  de- 
gree. The  perjDctual  question  of  the  little  one, 
"  What  is  that?  "  comes  to  his  lips  with  great  fer- 
vor. The  answer,  "The  elephant,  my  child," 
will  be  likely  to  remain  in  its  mind  forever.  The 
spoken  word,  then,  is  acquired  by  repeated  acts  of 
association.  The  number  of  these  acts  necessary 
depends  in  a  great  degree  upon  the  stimulus  of  each 
act.  For  instance,  the  greater  the  stimulus  the  less 
the  number  of  acts  of  association  required,  and  vice 
versa.  What  we  have  said  of  words  may  also  be 
applied  to  the  learning  of  idioms. 

!N^ow,  the  question  is,  In  learning  the  new  means   Association 

j:  it  -j  V  £   ^1,  -xx  J    of  words  witH 

of  recalling  ideas  by  means  01  the  written  words  ideas, 
should  there  be  the  slightest  change  in  the  general 
method?  A  word  is  used  simply  and  solely  to  recall 
an  idea.  It  has  no  other  use.  It  can  be  learned 
only  by  association  with  the  idea  recalled ;  and  the 
sole  question  for  the  teacher  is  to  know  how  best 
to  associate  words  with  ideas.  I  think  we  can  lay 
down  this  one  rule  as  fundamental :  In  all  the  teach- 
ing and  the  study  of  the  art  of  teaching  little  chil- 
dren to  read,  that  that  which  aids  directly  in 
acts  of  association  of  words  with  their  appropriate 
ideas  aids  the  child  in  learning  to  read,  and  any 
other  method,  detail  of  method  or  device  that  does 


28 


Talks  on  Teaching, 


not  aid  the  mind  in  these  acts  hinders  the  child  In 
learning  to  read.  To  this  one  rule,  then,  all  our 
discussion  of  the  art  of  teaching  reading  must  re- 
turn. Everything  must  be  reconciled  with  this  or 
it  is  wrong. 

The  first  question,  then,  is.  What  is  the  best  way 
of  bringing  about  the  acts  of  association  with  the 
best  possible  stimulus?  It  is  plain  common-sense 
to  continue  the  method  that  has  developed  a  fixed 
and  powerful  habit  of  learning  new  words,  namely, 
the  presentation  of  objects  as  the  highest  and  best 
stimulus  to  acts  of  association.  This  is  strikingly 
true  in  teaching  the  first  few  words.  The  written 
or  printed  word  is  a  new,  strange  object.  It  repels 
rather  than  attracts.  No  stimulus,  then,  can  be 
found  in  the  strange  hieroglyphics  that  look  more 
mysterious  to  the  child  than  Hebrew  or  Sanscrit  do 
to  us.  Tide  the  child  over  his  first  difficulties  by 
using  the  active  energy  of  a  fixed  habit.  Simply 
repeat  that  which  has  been  repeated  thousands  of 
times,  present  the  object  (a  favorite  one  of  the 
child's),  and  say  the  word,  not  with  the  lips,  but 
with  the  chalk.  The  child's  consciousness  is  filled 
with  interest  for  the  object,  leaving  just  room 
enough  for  the  new  form  to  find  a  resting-place. 
On  the  other  hand,  try  to  fill  the  child's  mind  with 
the  word  itself,  and  you  fill  his  soul  with  disgust. 

The  word  as     The  spoken  word  has  been  learned  as  a  whole. 

wnoie.  j^  -g  ^Q^Q  complex,  and  therefore  more  difficult  to 
learn,  than  the  written  word.  Every  spoken  word 
is  learned  as  a  whole,  and  wo  have  no  reason  to  be- 

the  slightest  consciousness 


The  object 


lieve  that  the  child  has 


Reading. — The  Word,  29 

that  the  spoken  word  has  any  elementary  parts. 
The  attempt  ^  teach  him  the  elementary  parts  of  a 
spoken  word  while  he  is  learning  to  talk  would 
prove  disastrous.  Why,  then,  should  not  the  writ- 
ten word  be  learned  as  a  whole?  Why  introduce 
a  new  process  when  the  old  one  has  been  so  effect- 
ual? Indeed,  there  is  no  doubt  that  any  attempt 
to  separate  the  written  word  into  parts,  or  to  com- 
bine the  parts  of  a  word  into  a  whole,  directly  and 
effectually  hinders  the  acts  of  association,  and  there- 
fore obstructs  the  action  of  the  child's  mind  in 
learning  to  read.  The  tendency  of  unscientific 
teaching  has  set  steadily  and  strongly  for  the  last 
thirty  years  toward  woeful  and  useless  complications 
in  details  of  instruction.  The  return  to  real  teach- 
ing is  signalized  by  a  strong  leaning  toward  sim- 
plicity. The  height  of  the  art  of  teaching,  as  in  all 
other  lesser  arts,  is  found  in  simplicity.  Hold  up  the 
object  and  write  the  name.  Say  just  enough  to  lead 
to  the  proper  mental  action  and  no  more.  The 
fewer  words  the  better.  Begin  with  objects.  Se- 
lect those  objects  most  interesting  to  the  child. 

Next  to  objects  I  shall  place  sketches  upon  the  Devices  to 
blackboard,  done  in  the  presence  of  the  child,  so  ^  ^^  ' 
they  may  be  associated  with  the  names  of  the  things 
drawn,  and  the  sentences  that  express  the  relations 
of  the  objects.  Third,  pictures  may  be  used  effec- 
tively. Fourth,  conversations  of  the  teacher  that 
will  bring  the  ideas  to  be  associated  with  words  vividly 
into  the  child's  consciousness.  Fifth,  stories  may 
be  told  with  the  same  result.  How  long  should 
objects  be  used?     Until  the  child  will  actively  asso- 


30  Talks  on  Teaching, 

ciate  new  words  with  ideas  without  the  presence  of 
the  objects  or  pictures  of  the  objects,  tliat  produced 
the  ideas.  E^o  teacher  wlio  watches  the  faces  of  her 
httle  ones  will  fail  to  note  when  this  time  has  fully 
come. 

If  the  principles  that  I  have  here  given  are  true, 
then  you  will  have  a  basis  of  truth  for  tlie  discus- 
sion of  the  art  of  teaching  little  children  to 
read.  This  method,  to  use  a  popular  but  not  a  cor- 
rect term,  may  be  called  the  associative  or  objective 
method.  Learning  the  word  as  a  whole,  without 
trying  to  fix  the  child's  attention  upon  its  parts  be- 
fore it  becomes  a  clear  object  in  the  mind,  is  called 
the  ' '  word  method. ' ' 
Writing:  the  The  question  no  doubt  will  arise  in  your  minds, 
if  the  old  alphabet  method  is  entirely  laid  aside  and 
the  phonic  method  is  not  used  at  the  outset  for  the 
analysis  of  words :  How  is  the  form  of  the  word 
fixed  in  the  mind  ?  The  answer  is  a  simple  one : 
The  best  way  to  fix  any  form  in  the  mind  is  to  draw 
it. 


TALK  IV. 

READING. THE    SENTENCE. 

I  WILL  repeat  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  art  j^gg^j^e  ^f 
of  teaching  reading.  Learning  to  read  is  learning  previous  talk, 
a  vocabulary  of  written  and  printed  words.  Each 
word  is  learned  by  repeated  acts  of  association  of  the 
idea  and  the  word.  That  which  helps  in  these  acts 
of  association,  and  that  alone,  should  be  used  in 
teaching  reading.  All  other  means  are  hindrances. 
I  have  shown  that  the  effectiveness  of  the  acts  of 
association  depends  on  the  stimulus  or  excitement 
to  the  act.  This  stimulus  comes  primarily  and 
mainly  from  the  side  of  the  idea.  The  vivid- 
ness of  the  idea  or  mental  picture  in  the  conscious- 
ness, with  the  appropriate  word,  determines  the  re- 
sult. The  greatest  difficulty  to  be  found  in  the  proc- 
ess of  learning  to  read  is  in  learning  the  first  few 
words.  The  habit,  so  strong  in  the  mind,  of  learn- 
ing the  spoken  word  is  to  be  carried  over  and  used 
as  a  power  in  learning  the  written  word.  The 
word  itself  should  be  subordinate  and  secondary  in 
interest  to  the  child  to  the  idea  that  excites  the 
mind.  The  word  is  to  be  learned  consciously  as  a 
whole,  and  any  attempt  to  analyze  or  synthesize  it 
hinders  the  act  of  association  by  absorbing  the  atten- 
tion.    The  means  used  to  arouse  the  mind  to  acts  of 

31 


$2  Talks  on  Teaching. 

association,  I  liave  told  yon,  are,  objects,  drawings 

upon  the  blackboard,  made  under  the  eye  of  the 

Another       Pupil,    pictures,   Conversations,  and  stories.       But 

means  of  asso-   i  .  i  ,       .,, 

ciation.-The   tliere  IS  another  and  still  stronsjer  means  of  associa- 

sentence.  •/•!/? 

tion  after  the  nrst  few  words  have  been  learned,  and 
that  is  the  arrangement  of  words  that  recalls  ideas 
in  their  relations  or  thought.  Every  object  that 
we  recall  or  think  of  is  recalled  in  space.  The 
more  interesting  the  relation  of  the  ideas  one  to  an- 
other the  stronger  will  be  the  association.  That  is, 
it  is  a  great  help  in  learning  words  to  learn  them  in 
sentences.  We  do  not  learn  the  word  in  order  to 
read  the  sentence,  but  we  read  the  sentence  in  or- 
Bt^*fkS.^^***  der  to  learn  tlie  word.  The  question  may  here  be 
®^**^  *  asked,  Why  not  begin  with  the  sentence,  as  many 
do  with  great  success?  My  answer  is  that  the  first 
written  words,  as  I  have  said,  present  the  greatest 
difficulties  to  the  child.  We  can  hardly  compre- 
hend how  mysterious  the  strange  forms  are  to  the 
little  one.  We  may  get  an  inkling  of  the  trouble 
if  we  have  ever  begun  Greek,  Hebrew,  or  Sanscrit. 
We  may  recall  the  fear  that  came  over  us  wdien  we 
looked  forward  to  the  time  when  we  must  use  the 
meaningless  forms  to  get  thought.  The  successful 
learning  of  the  first  few  words,  it  seems  to  me,  de- 
pends upon  presenting  the  simplest  obstacle  to  be 
overcome,  and  in  making  the  child,  the  little  learner, 
as  unconscious  as  possible  of  the  difficulty.  The 
simplest  step,  then,  consists  in  following  a  fixed  and 
powerful  habit  of  the  child,  by  presenting  a  favor- 
ite object,  and  saying  with  the  chalk  just  what  the 
tongue  has  so  often  repeated.     I  have  no  doubt  but 


Reading. — The  Sentence.  33 

what  the  skilful  teacher  could  successfully  begin 
with  a  whole  sentence.  My  point  is  that  it  is 
much  simpler  and  easier  to  begin  with  the  single 
words.  Just  as  soon,  however,  as  a  few  words  have 
been  learned,  for  instance,  fifteen  or  twenty,  short 
sentences  should  be  taught  by  the  objective  plan ; 
so  that  when  the  child  sees  the  sentence  he  is  able 
to  get  the  thought  that  it  expresses.  There  are 
many  words  that  mean  nothing  alone  which  should 
always  be  taught  in  phrases  or  sentences. 

We  come  now  to  the  discussion  of  oral  reading,  xhe  sentence 
or  getting  thought  by  means  of  written  or  printed  ™®^*^°*^* 
words  arranged  in  sentences.  A  thought  is  ideas 
in  their  relations,  and  may  be  called  the  unit  of 
mental  action.  A  sentence,  therefore,  is  the  unit 
of  expression.  We  cannot  learn  a  single  word 
without  recalling  the  idea  it  expresses  in  some  rela- 
tion. You  will  remember  what  I  have  said  con- 
cerning the  different  ways  of  getting  thought.  First, 
directly  through  the  senses,  by  seeing,  hearing,  etc. , 
objects  in  their  relations.  Second,  by  pictures  and 
drawings.  Third,  by  language,  both  oral  and  writ- 
ten. In  all  these  cases  the  thought  is  the  same  in 
the  mind,  differing  only  in  degrees  of  intensity. 
The  written  sentence  is  simply  one  way  of  getting 
thought.  The  child  has  already,  by  long  and  con- 
tinued practice,  learned  to  talk,  and  to  talk  well. 
One  thing  above  all  others  I  wish  to  impress  upon 
your  minds,  here  and  now :  Do  not  teach  him  to  n^Sr^^ex^** 
talk  in  any  other  way — that  is,  when  he  gets  the  JetSned!  *°  ^ 
thought  by  means  of  the  written  sentence,  let  him 
say  it  as  he  always  has.     Changing  the  beautiful 


34  Talks  on  Teaching, 

power  of  expression,  full  of  melody,  liarmony,  and 
correct  emphasis  and  inflection,  to  the  slow,  painful, 
almost  agonizing  pronunciation  that  we  have  heard 
60  many  times  in  the  school-room  is  a  terrible  sin 
that  we  should  never  be  guilty  of.  There  is  indeed 
not  the  slightest  need  of  changing  a  good  habit  to  a 
miserable  one  if  we  would  follow  the  rule  that  the 
child  has  naturally  followed  all  his  life.  Never 
Getting  the  ^^^ow  a  child  to  give  a  thought  until  he  gets  it. 

^vffg  \t.*^*"  I^^ri^ember,  and  keep  on  remembering,  my  dear 
teachers,  that  the  child  has  learned  to  talk,  and  that 
that  teaching  which  mangles  this  grand  power  is 
needless  and  worse  than  useless.  Let  the  child  get 
the  thought  himself,  in  the  easiest  possible  way,  by 
means  of  the  written  sentences.  One  of  the  worst 
ways  of  teaching  reading  may  be  called,  for  want 

oMmit™tSiL!*  c>f  ^  better  term,  tlie  method  of  imitation.  Now 
you  will  see  that  the  valuable  act  of  the  mind,  the 
thing  to  be  done,  is  the  child's  getting  the  thought 
for  himself  and  by  himself  by  the  means,  I  repeat, 
of  written  words.  If  the  teacher  reads  the  sentence 
to  the  child,  the  child  gets  the  thought  through  the 
ear  from  the  teacher's  lips,  and  the  one  thing  he 
ought  to  do  is  prevented.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  un- 
derstood that  the  teacher  should  not  read  to  tlie 
child.  The  teacher  should  make  herself  the  best 
possible  model  of  good  reading,  and  through  her 
reading  present  a  high  ideal  of  expression  for  the 
child  to  attain.  What  I  wish  to  impress  upon  you 
is  the  one  pedagogical  principle  that  stands  above 
all  others — we  learn  to  do  by  doing.  Oral  reading 
has  one  function,  one  use  to  the  teacher;  it  is  a 


Reading,— The  Sentence,  35 

means  of  knowing,  as  I  have  said  in  a  former  talk, 
whether  the  thought  is  in  the  mind  of  the  reader, 
how  it  is  there,  if  every  relation  is  known,  and  the 
intensity  of  the  thought  felt  by  the  reader.  This 
grand  function  of  oral  reading  may  be  perverted  or 
entirely  destroyed.  First  and  foremost,  by  not 
waiting  for  the  child  to  get  the  whole  thought  be- 
fore he  gives  it.  Second,  by  training  the  child  to 
imitate  the  teacher's  voice,  her  pauses,  emphasis, 
and  inflection;  and,  third,  by  a  useless  struggle 
with  the  parts  of  the  word  in  forcing  analysis  before 
the  whole  word  is  clearly  in  the  mind.  The  alpha- 
bet method  is  the  best  possible  means  of  obstructing 
the  mental  action  of  the  child  in  learning  to  read ; 
too  early  phonic  analysis  the  next.  With  the  child 
thought  has  always  controlled  expression.  Why 
should  we  throw  this  grand  power  aside,  and  try  to 
teach  a  child  oral  expression  by  means  of  pauses  and 
imitated  inflection  and  emphasis?  The  initial  cap- 
ital of  a  sentence  and  the  punctuation  have  one  use — 
they  enable  the  child  to  get  the  thought.  When 
the  thought  is  in  the  mind,  they  have  no  use. 
You  will  see,  then,  that  if  you  follow  the  principle. 
Thought  controls  expression,  much  of  the  labor 
and  toil  of  the  teacher,  in  trying  to  force  artificial 
expression  by  training  a  child  to  pause  at  commas 
and  periods,  to  raise  the  voice  or  let  it  fall  at  the  end 
of  sentences,  to  give  stress  when  they  see  diacritical 
marks,  is  not  only  useless,  but  positively  injurious 
and  nonsensical. 


TALK    V. 

BEADING. SCRIPT. 

The  written      The  written  word  to  tlie  little  child  has  no  ele- 
word. 

inent  of  attraction.  It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
repelling  object.  I  have  tried  to  show  how  the 
difficulties  of  learning  the  first  words  may  be  over- 
come by  the  stimulus  of  the  idea  in  acts  of  associa- 
tion. It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  steadily 
overcome  the  repulsion  occasioned  by  the  written 
word.  This  repulsion  will  grow  less  and  less,  and 
the  acts  of  association  will  be  made  easier  by  con- 
tinued familiarity  with  the  new  forms,  if  the 
interest  and  the  appetite  of  the  child  for  words  is 
sedulously  cultivated,  through  the  pleasure  that  the 
objects  and  pictures  excite.  All  words  are  made, 
as  you  know,  of  only  twenty-six  different  forms. 
The  less  the  mental  action  it  requires  to  see  these 
forms  the  easier  will  be  the  acts  of  association.  It 
is  important  to  impress  these  forms  upon  the  mind 
in  an  easy,  natural,  semi-unconscious  way.  As  I 
have  shown,  the  best  possible  way  to  impress  the 
word-forms  upon  the  mind  is  to  write  them — to 
make  them.  We  hear  the  objection  very  often 
that  a  child  does  not  learn  the  letters  by  the  new 
method.     He  does  not  learn  their  names,  but  he 

36 


Reading.— Script.  37 

learns  them  by  continually  making  tliem.     "What  is 
the  best  proof  that  any  object  is  clearly  in   the 
mind?      A   word  description  is  weak   beside  the 
representation   of   the   object   in  drawing.      ThiSp^^'**"'^®""^ 
brings  us  to  the  question  so  often  mooted,  whether 
we  should  use  print  at  the  beginning,  or  print  and 
script,  or  script  alone.     I  will  try  and  present  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  using  script  alone,  not  deny- 
ing, however,  that  script  and  print  may  be  used  at 
the   same   time  with  good  effect.     When  two  or 
more  ways  of  teaching  are  presented,  all  of  which 
may  be  defended  by  good  reasons,  reasons  that  do 
not  directly  violate   a   principle,  the  question   of 
choice  then  becomes  a  question  of  economy.     If  we 
begin  with  print,  it  certainly  fixes  the  printed  forms 
in  the  mind  by  reproducing  them  on  the  slates,  so 
that  if  the  teacher  uses  print  alone  at  the  beginning 
she  should  train  the  children  to  make  the  printed 
forms.       But  making  the  printed  forms  is  not  a 
means  of  expression  that  a  child  ever  uses  after  the 
first  few  months,  or  the  first  year.     Writing  is  the 
second   great  means  of   language   expression.     It 
should  be  put  into  the  power  of  the  child  just  as 
soon  as  possible,  in  order  that  he  may  express  his 
thoughts   as   freely  with   the  pencil  as  with   the 
tongue.     This  fact  needs  no  argument.     Written 
expression  is  as  great  a  help  to  mental  development 
as  oral  expression ;    and,  indeed,  in  many  respects 
it  stands  higher.     Written  expression  is  silent ;  the 
child  must  give  his  own  thought,  in  his  own  way, 
thus  developing  individuality.     The  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  all  teaching  in  our  graded  schools  is  the 


38  Talks  on  Teaching. 

sinking  of  the  individual  in  the  mass.  In  written 
expression  we  find  a  means  of  reaching  individu- 
ality through  the  mass.  Why  not,  then,  begin  at 
the  beginning  with  this  mode  of  expression  that  the 
child  must  use  all  his  life,  and  every  day  of  his 
life? 
The  change        Why  not   teach  printing  and   script   together? 

from  script  to  .^^  *^    .        .   ,  \  ^         ^  ^    ^      .       ^.   . 

print.  iiecause  it  violates  the  rule  of  periect  simplicity. 

Train  the  child  to  use  one  set  of  forms,  made  in 
one  way,  and  one  alone.  In  my  experience,  ex- 
tending over  eleven  years  of  supervision  of  primary- 
schools,  I  have  never  known  the  failure  of  a  single 
class  to  change  from  script  to  print,  easily  and 
readily,  in  one  or  two  days.  What,  then,  is  the 
use  of  print  at  first?  What  logical  reason  can  be 
given  for  its  use  if  the  step  from  script  to  print  is 
Advantages  SO  very  simple?     The  writing  of  the  words  by  the 

method?*^^*  child  on  blackboard,  slates,  and  paper  furnishes  a 
vast  amount  of  very  interesting  and  profitable  busy 
work.  In  writing  the  first  word  the  child  begins 
spelling  in  the  only  true  way.  In  writmg  the  first 
sentence  the  child  makes  the  capitals  and  punctua- 
tion-marks, and  if  he  is  never  allowed  to  make  a 
form  incorrectly  it  will  be  almost  impossible  for 
him  ever  to  write  a  sentence  incorrectly — that  is, 
beginning  it  with  a  small  letter,  or  not  using  the 
proper  punctuation  at  the  end.  In  writing  the 
words  the  child  follows  exactly  the  method  of 
learning  the  spoken  language.  Spelling  is  the 
precise  correlative  of  pronunciation.  The  child 
hears  the  spoken  word  and  strives  to  reproduce  it 
by  his  voice.     The  child  sees  the  written  word  and 


Reading, — Script,  39 

reproduces  it  with  his  pencil.  He  gets  the  thought 
by  means  of  the  written  word,  and  gives  it  back 
just  as  he  gets  it — he  is  talking  with  his  pencil. 
He  is  ready  to  tell  you  any  time,  orally,  what  he  is 
writing. 

In  the  first  three  years'  work  talking  with  the 
pencil  may  be  used  as  a  greater  means  of  learning 
to  read  than  all  the  books  of  supplementary  reading. 
When  the  child  writes  the  first  word,  the  unity  of 
all  language-teaching  is  begun.  Getting  thought 
and  giving  thought  by  spoken  and  written  words 
should  be  united  at  the  start,  and  grow  through  all 
future  development  as  from  one  root. 

What  advantages  has  the  blackboard  and  crayon  Reasons  for 
over  the  chart  and  printed  book  in  elementary  blackboard, 
reading?  First,  the  words  are  created  by  the  hand 
of  the  teacher  before  the  eyes  of  the  children,  as  the 
spoken  word  is  created.  Second,  the  word  is 
written  alone  in  large  letters,  separated  from  all 
other  objects  of  interest  except  the  object  it  names. 
How  different  the  confused  mass  of  black  sjDccks 
upon  the  printed  page.  Third,  the  attention  of  the 
Httle  group  is  thus  directed  to  one  object  in  a  very 
simple  manner.  Fourth,  words  are  learned  by 
repeated  acts  of  association.  The  great  fault  with 
charts  and  primers  is  that  they  do  not  repeat  words 
times  enough  for  the  child  to  learn  them.  On  the 
blackboard,  on  the  other  hand,  these  repetitions 
can  be  easily  made.  It  is  of  great  importance  that 
the  first  one  hundred  words  should  be  learned 
thoroughly.  Superficial  work  is  always  bad  work. 
From  the  first,  then,  the  child  should  write  every 


40  Talks  on  Teaching. 

word  he  learns  from  tlie  blackboard,  and  just  as 

V  soon  as  lie  is  able  to   write   sentences  tlie  word 

should  invariably  be  written  in  sentences. 

whycMid^       The  child  should  be  trained  to  read  from  his 

ly  from  script  slate   all   that   he   writes.     The   reason   why    the 

to  print.  .  .  ,    '' 

change  is  made  so  easily  from  script  to  piint  used 
to  puzzle  me.  I  only  knew  that  it  could  be  done, 
but  could  not  tell  the  reason  w^hy.  Script  and 
print  are  very  nearly  allied  in  form.  The  first 
print  was  a  crude  reproduction  of  old  manuscript. 
Both,  indeed,  have  changed  since  the  art  of  print- 
ing was  discovered,  but  the  resemblance  remains. 
The  child,  as  you  know,  has  a  wonderful  power  of 
seeing  resemblances.  Like  comes  to  like  in  his 
mind  because  his  mental  pictures  are  not  filled  out 
with  that  which  produces  the  differences.  This,  to 
my  mind,  is  sufficient  reason  for  the  surprising 
ease  with  which  the  child  changes  from  script  to 
print. 


TALK  VL 

READING. PHONICS. 

I  PROPOSE  to  speak  to-day  of  the  use  of  the  ^^^  spoken 
spoken  word  in  assisting  acts  of  association  between  YecmsT^^^ " 
the  idea  and  the  written  word.  It  is  very  often 
urged  that  the  spoken  word  is  sufficient  to  recall 
its  appropriate  idea,  and  thereby  bring  about  an 
act  of  association  between  it  and  the  written  word ; 
that,  as  the  ideas  are  already  in  the  mind  of  the 
child,  the  spoken  word  alone  is  needed  to  re- 
call them.  Those  who  hold  to  this  doctrine  fail 
to  understand  the  great  economy  of  mental  ac- 
tion that  is  brought  about  by  the  stimulus  of  the 
object.  Were  I  to  teach  you  a  foreign  language, 
German,  for  instance,  how  much  quicker  and  easier 
you  would  learn  the  words  if  I  were  to  present  the 
objects  and  speak  or  write  their  names.  This  is 
thoroughly  understood  to-day  by  the  best  teachers 
of  modern  languages.  If  we  adults  can  learn  a 
foreign  language  so  much  easier  by  the  object  meth- 
od, it  can  be  readily  inferred  how  necessary  the 
use  of  objects  is  to  the  little  child.  When  the  old 
habit  of  learning  spoken  words  is  carried  over  into 
the  learning  of  written  words,  that  is,  after  a  hun- 
dred or  more  words  have  been  learned,  probably 
the  spoken  word  will  then  be  sufficient  to  bring 

41 


42  Talks  on  Teaching, 

about  the  required  acts  of  association.  When  a 
child  does  not  need  the  stimulus  of  objects,  pictures, 
etc. ,  then  their  use  should  cease.  Any  good  teacher 
will  not  fail  to  observe  when  this  time  comes  to 
the  child.  The  spoken  word,  then,  aids  in  recall- 
ing the  idea,  and  at  the  same  time  names  the  writ- 
ten word.  The  spoken  word  is  associated  mth  the 
written  word,  so  that  it  recalls  the  written,  and  the 
written  recalls  the  spoken.  Deaf  mutes  learn  the 
written  words  without  the  intermediate  help  of 
spoken  words,  and  it  is  found  that  with  the  use  of 
objects  these  unfortunate  beings  learn  written  words 
with  as  much,  if  not  greater,  rapidity  than  the  chil- 
dren who  have  perfect  hearing.  Notwithstanding 
this  fact,  the  spoken  word  has  a  use  in  learning  to 
read,  but  it  may  be  badly  misused.  For  instance, 
when  it  is  associated  with  the  written  word  alone, 
and  the  written  word  is  not  associated  with  the  idea. 
In  this  case  the  reading  is  not  the  getting  of 
thought,  and  therefore  not  real  reading,  but  sim- 
ply mechanical  word-pronouncing  without  the  slight 
est  inspiration  from  the  thought.  There  are  meth- 
ods of  teaching  reading  whose  sole  aim  is  to  train 
children  to  pronounce  words  with  little  or  no  regard 
to  the  thought.  To  the  casual  observer  the  results 
seem  surprising.  To  the  real  teacher  they  are  the 
sounding  of  empty  words.  The  use  of  the  spoken 
word,  then,  in  teaching  reading  must  be  to  assist 
in  acts  of  association.  To  use  them  for  any  other 
purpose  is  a  liindrance  in  learning  to  read.  The 
question,  then,  is.  How  can  spoken  words  be  used 
to  help  associative  acts?     The  spoken  words  have 


Reading.— Phonics,  43 

been  acquired  by  tlie  cliild  before  he  enters  scbool. 
He  knows  how  to  make  every  sonnd  in  the  language, 
and  to  combine  them  in  pronouncing  all  the  words 
he  knows.  He  has  learned  the  spoken  words  as 
wholes,  and  is  not  conscious  of  the  elementary  parts 
of  a  w^ord,  although  he  can  combine  them  without 
the  slightest  hesitation.  The  spoken  word  consists 
of  the  articulation  of  one  elementary  sound  or  a 
succession  of  elementary  sounds.  An  elementary 
sound,  with  the  exception  of  the  sound  of  A,  re- 
quires for  its  articulation  a  certain  fixed  position  of 
the  vocal  organs.  Change  the  position  of  the  vocat 
organs,  no  matter  how  slightly,  and  the  sound  musl 
change.  Between  a  few  combinations  of  two  sounds 
the  articulation  continues,  producing  pecuHar  modi- 
fications of  sound  brought  about  by  various  posi- 
tions of  the  vocal  organs  that  they  must  take  in 
changing  from  the  position  required  by  one  sound 
to  that  of  another.  If,  however,  these  glides  were 
made  between  each  and  all  of  any  combinations  of 
the  sounds  of  the  language,  the  intermediate  sounds 
would  be  innumerable.  As  it  is,  forty  sounds  are 
all  that  are  given  in  making  the  spoken  words  of 
the  English  language.  In  changing,  then,  from  tlie  Explanation 
position  of  the  vocal  organs  required  to  make  one  nuncStiMi." 
sound  to  that  of  another  there  must  be,  except  in 
glides,  an  actual  suspension  of  sound.  In  pronounc- 
ing ordinarily  these  pauses  between  sounds  are  too 
short  to  be  perceptible  to  the  ear.  Make  these 
pauses  perceptible,  and  we  do,  what  I  think  is 
wrongly  termed,  spell  by  sound.  As  phonic  an- 
alysis has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  spelling,  is 


44  Talks  on  Teaching. 

oftentimes  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help  to  Eng- 
hsh  epelHng,  I  prefer  to  call  the  act  of  articulating 
each  sound  with  a  perceptible  suspension  of  the 
voice  between  two  sounds — slow  pronunciation,  fol- 
lowing the  German  term — langsamer  ausjprache. 
Now  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  reality 
the  spoken  words  alone  are  pronounced  slowly,  the 
written  words  cannot  be.  It  is  a  mistake  to  say 
that  certain  letters  have  several  sounds,  several 
Process  of  sounds  are  represented  by  One  letter.  The  process 
tweei^ken"  hy  wliich  a  word  is  made  to  recall  a  spoken  word, 
word.  ^^  or  a  letter  is  made  to  recall  a  sound,  is  exactly  the 
same  as  that  by  which  the  written  word  recalls  the 
idea — viz.,  the  process  of  association.  When  the 
first  word  is  learned,  the  spoken  word  is  associated 
with  the  written  word.  The  spoken  word  and  ^^it- 
ten  word  are  learned  as  wholes.  I  have  tried  to 
show  that  the  written  word  is  fixed  in  the  mind  by 
writing  it ;  that  when  one  word,  for  instance,  rat^ 
is  taught  and  written,  the  word  cat  can  be  more 
easily  seen  and  more  easily  copied ;  for  the  word  cat 
contains  two  thirds  of  the  forms  of  the  previous  word. 
In  this  way  we  see  that  as  the  different  forms  are  im- 
pessed  upon  the  mind  the  repulsion  of  the  word  or  the 
difficulty  in  grasping  it,  is  overcome,  and  successive 
associations  made  easy.  In  the  same  way  the  spo- 
ken word  may  be  associated  with  the  written  words, 
80  that  the  written  words  will  recall  the  spoken 
with  greater  ease.  As  the  written  words  become 
more  clear  in  the  mind  the  separate  parts  of  the 
written  word  may  be  associated  with  the  separate 
articulate  sounds,  so  that  the  difficulties  in  the  acts 


Reading. — Phonics,  45 

of  association  may  become  less  and  less ;  that  is,  new 
words  may  be  pronounced  and  known  at  sight. 
The  great  danger  is  that  children  may  be  trained 
to  the  skilful  pronunciation  of  words  without  know- 
ing them.  A  word  is  only  known  when  it  recalls 
its  appropriate  idea. 

There  are  two  great  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  phonetic 
successful  teaching  of  the  so-called  phonic  analysis. 
One  is  more  apparent  than  real,  and  that  is  the  fact 
that  different  sounds  are  represented  by  the  same 
letter  in  the  English  language.  In  a  purely  pho- 
netic language  (which,  by  the  way,  does  not  exist) 
each  sound  is  represented  invariably  by  one  charac- 
ter.' If  the  English  language  were  phonetic,  it 
would  greatly  lighten  the  burden  of  learning  to  read 
and  write.  But  a  careful  examination  of  the  words 
learned  by  a  child  will  show  that  the  difficulties  are 
not  so  great  as  they  are  often  represented  to  be.  If 
we  begin,  for  instance,  with  the  short  sounds,  a  child 
may  learn  at  least  two  hundred  words  that  are  purely 
phonetic  to  him.  I  have  calculated  and  classified 
the  words  in  thirty-nine  pages  of  the  ]N"ew  Franklin 
Primer,  in  the  whole  of  Monroe's  Charts,  and  in  the 
first  forty  pages  of  my  Supplementary  Reader,  First 
Book.  There  are  456  words  in  all,  205  of  which 
are  purely  phonetic,  216  are  words  whose  pronun- 
ciation is  indicated  by  their  form,  and  only  the  35 
remaining  may  be  called  entirely  unphonetic.  After 
a  child  learns  this  number  of  words  he  has  formed 
a  fixed  habit  of  learning  new  words,  and  all  active 
use  of  primary  methods  may  cease.  What,  then,  is 
the  use  of  burdening  the  child  with  mangled  and 


46  lalks  on  Teaching » 

twisted  print  or  diacritical  marks  ?     Phonics  may  be 
used  as  a  great  help  in  teaching  primary  reading  if 
the   natural  growth  of  the  child's  power  is  care- 
fully followed. 
ReconciUa-       Tlie  second  difficulty  in  teaching  phonics  is  found 

and  word°  ^  in  the  apparent  opposition  of  the  word  and  phonic 
method.  The  word  must  be  learned  as  a  whole, 
and  any  early  attempt  at  word  analysis  simply  re- 
tards the  teaching.  The  struggle  to  analyze  a  new 
word,  or  to  build  it  up  from  parts,  as  I  have  already 
explained,  absorbs  the  attention  and  prevents  the 
act  of  association.  These  two  methods,  that  seem 
to  be  in  direct  opposition  to  each  other,  may  be  en- 
tirely reconciled  by  closely  following  well-known 
mental  laws.  The  child,  as  I  have  said,  knows  how 
to  make  all  the  sounds  in  the  language  in  their  word 
combinations.  He  is  not  conscious  of  a  single  sep- 
arate element.  Obviously,  the  first  step  to  be 
taken  is  to  bring  these  elements  slowly  to  his  con- 
sciousness. This  may  be  done  by  training  the  child 
to  pronounce  words  slowly  (spell  by  sound).  I  have 
found  by  repeated  experiments  that  the  little  child 
will  understand  me  when  I  pronounce  words  slowly 
in  a  natural  manner  nearly  as  well  as  when  I  pro- 
nounce in  the  ordinary  way.  The  child  may  be 
trained  by  imitation  to  pronounce  slowly  with  great 
readiness  and  skill.  This  should  be  carefully  done 
before  any  direct  association  is  made  between  artic- 
ulate sounds  and  tlie  word  that  represents  them. 
The  law  of        One  of  the  greatest  activities  of  the  mind  is  the 

and  Us  uses,     coming  together  of  like  to  like.     It  may  be  called 
the  law  of  analogies.     It  begins,  as  all  good  things 


Reading. — Phonics.  47 

do,  in  perfect  unconsciousness  on  the  part  of  the 
child.  When  a  child  says,  ''  I  seed,"  for  I  saw, 
and  ' '  I  goed, "  for  I  went,  the  child  is  uncon- 
sciously following  this  law  of  analogies.  The  same 
law  is  in  operation  when  the  child  spells  all  words 
phonetically,  without  regard  to  the  absurdities  of 
English  spelling.  Using  phonics,  in  teaching  read- 
ing, in  the  proper  way  simply  intensifies  this  law. 
If  the  word  method  were  used,  pure  and  simple,  the 
child's  unconscious  mental  activity  would  seek  out 
and  use  the  analogies  of  the  language  in  associating 
new  written  words  with  the  same  sounds  he  has 
learned  to  associate  with  them.  When  we  teach 
words  in  phonic  order,  as,  for  example,  rat,  fat, 
cat,  mat,  sat,  pat,  this  law  of  like  coming  to  like  in 
the  mind  is  made  more  effective.  But  when  at  the 
proper  time  the  articulate  sounds  are  consciously  as- 
sociated with  the  letters  that  represent  them  we  use 
this  mental  activity  in  the  most  economical  way. 
Great  care,  however,  should  be  taken  not  to  force 
the  growth  of  this  mental  action  so  as  to  conflict 
with  the  other  and  more  important  law  of  learning 
words  as  wholes.  These  whole  words  cannot  be 
analyzed  until  they  are  clear  mental  objects.  The  Details  of 
process,  then,  of  using  phonics  may  be  given  thus :  metSodf ^^ 
First,  train  the  child  to  recognize  words  when  pro- 
nounced slowly.  This  may  be  easily  done  if  the 
teacher  pronounces  slowly  in  easy,  natural  tones. 
The  greatest  obstacle  that  I  have  found  in  phonics 
is  the  inability  of  teachers  to  do  this.  Second, 
train  the  child  to  pronounce  slowly  by  imitating  the 
teacher's  voice.     All  this  should  be  done,  as  I  have 


48  Talks  on  Teaching, 

said,  before  any  direct  association  of  articulate  sounds 
is  made  with  written  words.  Third,  after  a  few 
words  are  taught  let  the  teacher  in  writing  words 
give  each  articulate  sound  as  she  makes  the  charac- 
ter that  represents  it.  Do  not  require  the  children 
to  imitate  the  teacher  until  they  do  so  of  their  own 
accord.  Fourth,  have  the  children  begin  to  pro- 
nounce slowly,  without  even  a  suggestion  from  the 
teacher,  the  words  which  she  writes.  Phonics  may 
be  thereafter  used  with  great  effect  in  teaching  read- 
ing. Thus  you  will  observe  that  by  this  process 
the  spoken  word  retains  its  unity  as  long  as  it  is 
necessary,  and  the  way  is  carefully  prepared  for  the 
conscious  analysis  of  words  when  the  proper  time 
comes.  This  will  be  indicated  by  the  child's  own 
spontaneous  action. 

All  new  words,  then,  that  come  within  the  child's 
acquired  analogies  of  sound  may  be  readily  associ- 
ated with  their  appropriate  idea  with  little  or  no 
aid  from  the  teacher.  Give  the  child  the  power  to 
help  himseK  as  soon  as  possible,  and  at  the  same 
time  please  remember  not  to  violate  any  known 
laws  of  his  mental  growth. 


TALK    VII. 

EEADINO. APPLICATION  OF  PKINCIPLES. 

In  this  discussion  of  the  art  of  teachine:  reading    Ho  new  ^ 

,    .       ,  .      .    1        1  IT    methods  of 

I  have  tried  to  explain  the  principles  that  underne  teaching 

the  so-called  object,  word,  sentence,  script,  and 
phonic  methods.  Each  of  these  methods  has  been 
discovered  by  teachers  in  the  past,  and  generally 
each  has  been  applied  by  different  teachers  as  the 
only  true  method.  Probably  the  exact  date  of  the 
discovery  of  each  method  cannot  be  given,  but  the 
youngest  of  these,  the  script  method,  is  nearly  one 
hundred  years  old ;  and  the  oldest,  the  phonic,  is 
described  by  Yalentine  Ickelsamer,  a  contemporary 
of  Luther's,  in  a  book  written  in  1 534.  No  one 
would  claim  the  title  of  inventor  of  a  new  method 
if  they  had  studied  the  history  of  the  art  of  teaching 
reading.  Each  one  of  these  methods  was  dis- 
covered in  the  action  of  some  mental  law.  So  far 
as  they  go,  and  used  in  their  own  proper  place  and 
proportion,  they  are  all  natural  methods.  The 
difficulty  is  in  using  one  method  to  the  exclusion  of 
all  others.  It  is  like  using  one  power  of  the  mind 
and  leaving  four  others  inactive.  The  fact  is  that 
the  object,  word,  sentence,  script,  and  phonic 
methods  form  one  true  method  in  teaching  reading. 
Each  should  be  used  in  its  own  time,  place,  and 

49 


50  Talks  on  Teaching, 

proportion,   in  such   a  manner  as   to   arouse   and 
strengthen  five  faculties  of  the  mind  instead  of  one. 
ReconcUia-   This  reconcihation  of  most  methods  that  have  been 
forms^the  true  discovered  in  tlie  past  is  true  not  only  of  teaching 
^^   °  '  reading,  but  everything  else.     We  might  say  that 

everything  now  done  in  the  school -room,  in  the 
way  of  teaching,  is  right,  in  its  place;  but  the 
trouble  is  that  things  get  frightfully  misplaced. 
Precision,  for  instance,  may  take  the  place  and 
crush  the  evolution  of  thought,  and  thought 
growth  may  override  precision.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  great  duty  of  the  teachers  of  this  age  is, 
first,  to  know  all  the  great  things  that  have  been 
discovered  by  the  teachers  and  thinkers  of  the  past, 
and  to  reconcile  them  into  a  science  of  teaching. 
I  shall  now  endeavor  to  apply  in  practice  what  I 
have  given  you  in  theory  ;  in  which  I  trust  you  will 
see  that  all  the  methods  I  have  given  can  and  should 
be  used  as  one. 
Importance  The  preparatory  exercises  that  should  always 
seiecSon  of  precede  the  teaching  of  primary  reading  I  will 
words.  ^^^  when  I  discuss  the  teaching  of  language.     We 

will  suppose  that  the  child  has  had  these  prepara- 
tory exercises,  and  is  ready  to  be  taught  reading. 
The  first  question  to  be  settled  is,  What  words 
shall  be  taught?  (Learning  to  read,  you  will  re- 
member, is  learning  a  vocabulary  of  written  and 
piinted  words.)  The  first  general  answer  to  this 
question  is.  The  oral  words  the  child  has  already 
gained.  The  idea  must  always  be  acquired  before 
the  word  can  be.  All  through  the  education  of  the 
child  this  rule  should  be  carefully  followed.     Edu- 


Reading, — Application  of  Principles.  5 1 

cation  may  be  said  to  consist,  first,  of  enlarging  the 
range  of  ideas;  second,  in  relating  these  ideas  in 
various  ways. 

The  value  of  a  word  depends  wholly  upon  the  what  words 
value  of  the  idea  it  recalls.  It  is  of  great  impor-  taugit  first, 
tance  to  select  carefully  the  vocabulary  to  be  taught 
the  child  during  the  first  year ;  and  it  is  of  greater 
importance  that  the  selected  vocabulary  should  be 
slowly  and  thoroughly  taught;  that  is,  that 
repetitions  of  the  word  should  entirely  sufiice 
to  put  the  word  within  the  automatic  use  of  the 
child. 

Much  time  and  very  p-ood  teachiner  is  wasted  by    Directions 

regarding  the 
not  following  the  step- by-step  rule,  by  which  every- first  vocahn- 

thing   done   is   thoroughly  done.     It  is  far  more 

important  to  teach  20  words  well  than  to  try  to 

teach    200    imperfectly.       The    first    vocabulary 

selected   should   contain   about   200  words,  to  be 

taught  in  script  on  the  blackboard.     In  selecting 

tliis  list  of  words  three  things  should  be  taken  into 

account :     First,  the  fcmorite  words  of  the  child. 

Those   words  which  would  naturally  arouse  most 

interest  in  the  child  should  be  taught  first.    Second, 

the  words  should  be  arranged  in  phonic  order — 

generally  the  short  sounds  are  taken  first.     With 

these  words  all  the  unphonetic  words,  like  where^ 

there^  etc.,  that  serve  to  introduce  the  idioms  used 

by  the  little  child.     Teaching  words  in  the  phonic 

order,  that  is,  the  order  of  vowel  sounds,  serves,  as 

I  have  previously  explained,  to  intensify  the  law  of 

analogies  on  which  the  phonic  method  is  founded. 

I  may  say  here  that  the  phonic  order  should  not  be 


52  Talks  on  Teaching. 

followed  at  the  expense  of  the  interest  of  the  child. 
Every  word  and  sentence  should  bring  up  a  bright 
and  interesting  picture.  One  should  not  hesitate  to 
introduce  any  new  word  for  this  purpose.  The 
first  words  taught  should  be  names  of  connnon 
objects.  !N^ow  it  is  true  that  the  objects  most 
common  to  the  child  have  names  in  which  only 
short  vowel  sounds  occur,  such  as  fan^  cap^  hat^ 
cat^  mat^  rat^  hat^  lag^  rag^  flag,  hen,  egg,  nest,  hell, 
flsh,  dish,  pig,  rabhit,  ship,  dog,  doll,  top,  fox,  box, 
cup,  tub,  mug,  jug,  nut.  The  second  thing  to  be 
observed  in  selecting  the  list  is  the  words  used  in 
the  first  book  or  books  that  the  child  will  read. 
How  to  teach  No  First  Header  extant  furnishes  repetition 
words.  enough  for  the  thorough  learning  of  the  words.    It 

is  better  to  select  the  vocabulary  from  the  first  parts 
of  three  or  four  different  readers.  If  this  is  done 
when  the  child  begins  the  print  (after  150  or  200 
words  have  been  taught  in  script),  he  can  read  with 
great  ease  and  delight  150  or  200  pages  in  print. 
We  will  suppose,  then,  that  the  vocabulary  has 
been  carefully  selected ;  that  the  preparatory  oral 
work  has  been  done ;  that  the  teacher  has  selected 
fifteen  or  twenty  objects,  or  models  of  objects,  to 
aid  in  teaching  the  first  few  words.  The  pupils 
have  been  carefully  divided  off  in  groups  of  five  or 
six,  according  to  their  mental  strength.  The  work 
would  naturally  begin  with  their  brightest  group. 
(Never  tell  them  that  they  are  bright,  however.) 
The  teacher  is  at  the  board,  surrounded  by  a  little 
group  of  children,  who  have  been  made  to  feel 
quite  at  home  in  the  school-room,  and  who  are 


Reading,— Application  of  Principles.  53 

ready  and  eager  for  any  new  step,  because  every- 
thing they  have  done  in  the  school-room  has  given 
them  pleasure.  They  have  unbounded  faith  in  the 
power  of  the  teacher  to  lead  them  into  green  pas- 
tures filled  with  the  most  delightful  shrubs  and 
fiowers.  The  teacher  holds  up  an  object  as  she  has 
often  done  before.;  but  now,  instead  of  giving  its 
name  orally,  she  says,  ' '  Hear  the  chalk  talk, ' '  and 
slowly  writes  the  word.  Let  me  say  here  that  the 
articles  a,,  an,  and  the  should  always  be  written 
with  the  words,  and  the  article  and  word  should  be 
pronounced  as  one  word.  Write  the  name  of  the 
object  several  times.  Let  the  teacher  point  to  the 
word,  having  put  the  object  down,  and  say  to  the 
child,  ''  Bring  me  a — ,"  pointing  at  the  same  time 
to  the  word.  Let  the  teacher  hold  up  the  object 
and  ask,  ''What  does  the  chalk  say  this  is?  "  having 
the  pupil  point  to  the  word.  These  exercises 
should  not  occupy  more  than  five  minutes.  The 
next  lesson  shows  a  new  object,  and  write  its  name 
as  before.  Let  the  child  take  the  two  objects,  one 
in  each  hand.  Let  the  teacher  write  the  name,  and 
ask  him  to  hold  up  the  objects,  first  one,  and  then 
the  other,  as  the  names  are  written.  This  plan 
may  be  safely  followed  till  ten  or  fifteen  words  are 
taught.  In  review  of  words  all  the  names  may  be 
written ;  let  the  teacher  point  to  the  different  names 
and  have  the  pupils  bring  the  objects ;  then  the 
teacher  holds  up  the  objects  and  lets  the  pupils 
point  to  the  names ;  and  last,  have  the  pupils  point 
and  give  the  names  without  the  objects. 

The  first  sentence  may  now  be  taught.     Let  the 


54  Talks  on  Teaching, 

How  to  teach  cliild  take,  for  instance,  a  fan  in  his  hand,  and   be 

the  first  sen-  '  '  ' 

tences.  je^  to  saj,  ' '  This  is  a  fan. ' '     Tlie  teacher  writes 

the  sentence  on  tlie  board,  and  says,  ' '  The  chalk 
has  said  what  you  said;  what  did  tlie  chalk  say?" 
The  child,  holding  the  fan,  says,  ''  This  is  a  fan." 
Write  in  place  of  fan  successively  all  the  words 
that  have  been  taught.  Have  pupils  take  the  ob- 
jects and  read  the  sentences.  Change  this  to  thati 
place  the  objects  at  a  little  distance  from  the  pupils, 
and  repeat  all  the  sentences  as  before.  Change 
that  to  here,  and  repeat  all  the  sentences,  having 
the  child  hold  the  appropriate  object  as  he  reads 
each  sentence.  Change  hei^e  to  there ^  and  repeat  as 
before.  Change  the  singulars  to  plurals,  and  change 
the  sentences  accordingly,  using  these  and  those^  here 
and  there.  Write  questions  beginning  with  where, 
as,  ''Where  is  the  fan?"  and  let  pupils  answer 
orally  by  holding  up  the  object,  as,  ''Here  is  the 
fan. ' '  Put  the  objects  on  the  table,  and  ask  the 
question  by  writing  it  on  the  board — "  Where  is 
the  fan?"  After  this  answer  write  the  answers 
and  have  pupils  read  them.  When  a  dozen  sen- 
tences have  been  written,  have  the  pupils  read  the 
whole  successively.  Introduce  new  words  as  before 
with  objects.  Qualities  of  objects  may  be  brought 
in  next,  as,  "  The  red  box,"  "The  white  fan," 
"  The  fat  rat,"  and  reviews  made  by  the  schedule 
just  given — this,  that,  these,  those,  etc.  Place  ob- 
jects in  different  positions,  as  the  fan  in  the  liat, 
the  cap  in  the  box,  and  write  sentences  describing 
them.  Little  exclamatory  sentences  may  here  be 
introduced  with  good  effect,  as,  "Oh,  what  a  pretty 


Reading, — Application  of  Principles,  55 

fan!"  ''Seethe  little  doll!"  ''Oh,  there  is  the 
cat ! "  "  The  cat  is  sitting  up  ! "  "  Isn'  t  she  funny  ? ' ' 
Directions  might  be  written  on  the  board  which  the 
pupil  reads  silently,  and  complies  with,  such  as, 
"Come  to  me,"  "Sit  down,"  "Stand  up," 
"Shake  hands,"  "Eun,"  "Jump,"  "Skip," 
"Hop,"    "Laugh,"   "Cry,"  etc. 

The  next  step  may  be  the  writing  of  little  con-  ^gJchin^tSe 
nected  stories  on  the  blackboard.  A  very  good  ^«^^  **®p- 
way  to  write  stories,  or  sentences  connected  in 
thought,  is  for  the  teacher  to  sketch  a  picture  on 
the  board.  Let  her  make  a  plan  for  a  picture  con- 
taining quite  a  number  of  objects.  Let  her  sketch 
one  object  before  the  little  group,  talk,  and  then 
write  sentences  about  it,  and  arouse  curiosity  as  to 
what  the  picture  is  to  be.  Tlius  one  picture  may 
serve  for  several  lessons.  A  large  wall-picture  may 
be  used  in  the  same  way.  In  all  object  lessons, 
lessons  on  plants,  animals,  and  color,  the  words  and 
sentences  should  be  written  upon  the  board. 


TALK  VIII. 

KEADING. APPLICATION    OF    PRINCIPLES,  CONTINUED. 

General  di-       SoME  general  directions  to  be  followed  in  teacli- 
lirstieions.    ing  these  first  lessons  may  be  of  service.     I  will 
give  tliem  here. 

1.  Carefully  introduce  each  word  which  of  itself 
recalls  an  idea  by  first  presenting  the  object,  sketch 
or  representation  of  the  object,  or  by  bringing  the 
picture  of  it  vividly  to  the  child's  mind  by  means 
of  conversation  or  questioning. 

2.  All  words  that  do  not  recall  ideas  except  in 
their  relations  should  be  taught  in  phrases  or  sen- 
tences. 

3.  Try  to  make  every  thought  and  its  expression 
real  to  the  child,  and  when  it  can  be  done  suit  the 
action  to  the  word. 

4.  Be  sure  the  child  has  got  the  thought  before 
you  allow  him  to  make  an  attempt  to  give  it. 

5.  Have  the  child  get  the  thought  by  means  of 
the  written  words,  and  not  by  hearing  the  sentence 
read. 

6.  Do  not  teach  emphasis,  inflection,  and  pauses 
by  imitation.  Thought  will  control  expression. 
If  the  thought  is  in  the  child's  mind  in  its  fullest 
intensity,  the  expression  will  be  appropriate. 

7.  Train  childi-en  to  read  in  pleasant,  conver- 

56 


\ 


keading,— Application  of  Principtes,  si 

sational  tones,  free  from  liarslmess,  monotony,  or 
artificiality. 

8.  ]^evQr  allow  the  children  to  read  carelessly,  or 
to  guess  at  the  words. 

9.  To  arouse  a  desire  for  new  words,  and  a  love 
for  the  reading  lesson,  observe  the  following  rules : 

1.  Teach  the  words  very  slowly  at  first. 

2.  Put  the  words  taught  into  many  different 
sentences. 

3.  Write  short  sentences,  and  then  make  very 
slight  changes  in  them — generally  of  a  single  word 
— in  order  that  the  children  may  be  successful 
every  time  they  try  to  read  a  sentence. 

4.  Wait  patiently  until  they  grasp  the  thought, 
and  if  they  are  dull  be  very  patient. 

5.  Have  always  a  bright  picture  behind  each 
word  or  sentence,  which  the  child  shall  see  vividly 
with  his  mind's  eye. 

The  children  should  be  trained  to  write  on  their  Devices  for 
slates  the  first  words  they  learned  from  the  black-  ft?s?^tin|. 
board.  Several  devices  may  be  used  for  this. 
First,  the  children,  following  the  teacher,  may  write 
the  word  in  the  air.  Second,  they  may  trace  the 
word.  Third,  they  may  write  the  word  line  by 
line  as  the  teacher  writes  it.  (The  teacher,  by  the 
way,  should  be  an  excellent  penman.)  Fourth,  the 
children  may  write  the  word  without  any  help  from 
the  teacher,  copying  it  from  a  large  and  well-nigh 
perfect  copy  on  the  blackboard.  The  slates  should 
be  ruled.  The  same  word  may  be  copied  several 
times.  "No  matter  how  badly  the  child  writes  the 
first  word,  praise  him  if  he  has  tried,  and  do  not 


58  Talks  071  Teaching. 

discourage  him  if  lie  has  not  tried.  Imbue  him 
with  your  own  faith  that  he  can  do  it.  When  the 
sentence  is  written,  have  him  write  the  sentences 
in  the  order  I  have  given  for  the  teaching  of  sen- 
tences. Be  sure  that  he  always  begins  the  sentence 
with  a  capital,  and  uses  the  correct  punctuation- 
mark  at  the  end  of  the  sentence.  Have  the  pupils 
read  everything  they  write.  Use  short  sentences 
at  first.  IS'ever  allow  a  child  to  read  a  sentence  till 
he  has  the  thought  in  his  mind,  and  never  allow 
him  to  express  the  thought  in  any  other  way  than 
by  talking.  If  he  does  not  talk  well,  train  him  to 
do  so,  orally,  by  object  lessons.  Introduce  all  new 
idioms  in  the  same  way.  Repeat  the  words  until 
you  are  sure  they  are  thoroughly  known. 
Purpose  of  The  use  of  the  phonic  method  may  begin  the  first 
sis?  ^  day  the  child  comes  to  school  with  the  phonic  an- 

alysis of  the  spoken  word,  which  I  prefer  to  call 
slow  pronunciation.  The  purpose  of  this  exercise 
is  to  bring  distinctly  to  the  child's  consciousness  the 
separate  sounds  of  which  the  spoken  word  consists, 
and  to  give  him  such  practice  as  will  enable  him  to 
utter  all  the  elementary  sounds  of  the  language 
purely  and  easily.  But  no  attempt  should  be  made 
at  this  time  to  associate  these  elementary  sounds 
with  the  letters  that  stand  for  them.  That  comes 
later.  The  chlid  should  first  become  accustomed  to 
hear  the  separate  sounds  and  to  uttei'  them ;  and  the 
exercises  for  this  purpose  should  be  among  the  first 
given  to  the  child,  and  be  carried  on  side  by  side 
First  steps  in  with  the  o ral-1  an ffu afire  work  from  day  to  day.     I 

slow  pronan-  n  »/  ./ 

ciauon.  will  describe  in  detail  the  first  steps  of  this  work. 


Reading.— Application  of  Principles.  59 

When  a  few  exercises  in  the  repetition  of  sentences 
have  been  given,  the  teacher  may,  without  chang- 
ing her  tone  of  voice,  pronounce  slowly  (spell  by 
sound)  one  of  the  words  in  a  given  sentence.  For 
instance,  the  teacher  pointing  at  the  clock,  says, 
' '  There  is  a  c-l-o-ck. ' '  The  pupils  wdll  repeat  the 
sentence  as  before,  without  hesitation.  Or  the 
teacher  may  say  to  the  children,  ''Touch  what  I 
name  :  n-o-s-e,  m-ou-th,  f -a-ce,  d-e-s-k, ' '  and  the 
pupils  will  perform  the  acts  promptly  if  the  teacher 
does  not  change  her  tone.  Then  pronounce  single 
words  slowly,  and  ask  pupils  to  tell  what  you  say. 
Pronounce  whole  sentences  slowly,  and  ask  the  pu- 
jils  to  repeat  them  in  the  ordinary  way.  Direct 
pupils  to  ''s-t-a-n-d  u-p,  s-i-t  d-ow-n,  etc."  As 
soon  as  they  have  become  accustomed  to  hearing  the 
slow  pronunciation  say  single  words  slowly  and  let 
them  imitate.  (One  sound  may  be  given  at  a  time, 
the  pupils  repeating — as,  ''m,"  "m,"  ''ou," 
"ou,''  "th,"  "th.'')  It  is  not  well  to  let  the 
pupils  pronounce  a  word  slowly  and  immediately 
pronounce  it  in  the  ordinary  way,  as  in  a  spelling 
exercise,  because  they  should  have  the  feeling  that 
when  they  have  once  uttered  the  sounds  they  have 
pronounced  the  word.  After  this  pronounce  words  DetaUs  of 
in  the  ordinary  way,  and  ask  the  pupils  to  pro-  ing  in  paonics. 
nounce  the  same  words  slowly.  Let  pupils  pro- 
nounce slowly  any  words  that  they  may  think  of. 
Those  children  who  have  defects  in  articulation 
should  have  special  drill.  To  assist  them  in  utter- 
ing the  sounds  correctly,  the  right  position  of  the 
vocal  organs  should  be  shown.      Words  mispro- 


6o  Talks  on  Teaching, 

nounced  should  be  corrected  by  imitating  the 
teacher  and  by  repetition  until  the  correct  habit 
is  formed.  The  preliminary  exercises,  both  in  oral 
language  and  in  phonics,  should  be  carefully  graded, 
beginning  with  those  which  are  very  simple.  There 
should  be  frequent  reviews,  and  the  exercises  should 
be  short — five  minutes  at  first,  and  never  at  any 
time  more  than  ten  minutes.  Practice  on  the  sound 
chart  is  of  great  service.  Begin  by  articulating 
each  sound  separately,  and  asking  the  pupils  to  im- 
itate you.  Each  sound  may  be  repeated  once  or 
twice  or  three  times,  both  slowly  and  in  quick  suc- 
cession, the  pupils  imitating.  In  this  exercise  the 
sounds  may  be  given  in  the  order  indicated  in  the 
chart  which  is  given  below,  but  this  chart  should 
not  be  written  on  the  board  at  first,  not  until  it  is 
needed  for  the  purpose  of  associating  the  sounds 
with  the  letters  in  teaching  reading. 


The  sound 
chart. 

SOUND  CHAET, 
CONSONANTS. 

tPP 

^                    ^^ 

/ 

€                ty^ 

/ 
/ 

/ 
/ 


/ 


Reading,— Application  of  Principles.         6i 

^                   -^               ^ 

<S^ 

^                       t€^^                 ^^ 

/ 

VOWELS. 

SHORT  SOUNDS, 

^  ^         ^  ^  ^  ^  (as  in  pull) 

NAME  SOUNDS, 

LONG  SOUNDS, 

#?.  2??^^  ^^  ^^  ^^ 


TALK   IX. 


CONCLUDED. 


Directions  When  150  words  Or  more  have  been  taught, 
from  sc^f  to  write  a  nice  lesson  on  the  blackboard  in  script,  and 
have  the  pupils  read  it;  then,  after  the  day's 
session,  erase  the  script  and  print  the  same  lesson 
in  the  same  place.  Call  up  the  pupils  the  next 
morning  and  liave  tliem  read  the  lesson.  Do  this 
two  or  three  times,  and  the  pupils  are  ready  for  tlie 
chart  or  a  book.  It  is  better  to  take  the  chart 
first.  In  my  experience  of  several  years  in  chang- 
ing many  classes  from  script  to  print  this  simple 
process  has  sufficed.  One  rule  should  be  strictly 
followed  :  Never  point  out  or  allude  in  any  way  to 
the  difficulty  in  learning  print.  You  should  have, 
besides  a  good  chart  like  Monroe's  or  Appleton's, 
at  least  five  or  six  sets  of  First  Eeaders.  They  are 
very  cheap,  and  you  can  induce  your  committee  to 
buy  them,  providing  you  do  good  work.  Read  one 
book  until  the  sentences  become  difficult,  and  then 
take  another.  (Never  let  the  children  point  to 
words  with  their  fingers,  and  train  them  from  the 
First  three  first  to  find  their  places  for  themselves.)  Two 
years  at  least  should  be  spent  with  the  average 
child  in  learning  to  read  First  Reader  reading,  and 
the  third  year  may  be  profitably  spent  in  command- 
6a 


Reading.— Application  of  Principles.  6^ 

ing  Second  Reader  reading.  Tliere  is  immense 
economy  in  going  very  slowly.  If  tlie  primary 
work  is  thoroughly  done,  there  will  be  little  or  no 
need  of  teaching  reading  as  reading  after  the  fourth 
year. 

I  am  quite  sure  that  many  of  you  have  asked  the  Bad  hawts- 
question,  to  yourselves  at  least,  while  I  have  been  ^°^'^  ^^^^®*^' 
explaining  the  principles  and  methods  of  teaching 
primary  reading  as  I  understand  them,  What  shall 
we  do  with  children  whose  teaching  has  been  all 
wrong  from  the  beginning  ? — who  have  been 
taught  by  the  alphabet,  phonic,  phonetic,  or  word 
methods  without  the  life-giving  principle  of  the 
thought? — who  struggle  with  each  particular  word 
in  a  painful  way,  and  drawl  out  the  sentences  as  if 
there  were  no  beautiful  pictures  behind  them? — 
who  have  been  led  through  a  dreary  waste  of 
empty  words  in  a  harsh,  unnatural  manner?  What 
shall  we  do  with  these  children?  you  ask.  It  is  a 
very  difficult  question  to  answer,  for  two  or  three 
weeks'  wrong  teaching  will  leave  their  scars  in  the 
child's  mind  forever;  crippling  every  action  and 
obstructing  every  step.  The  elocutionists,  by 
scores,  reap  a  rich  harvest  from  the  bad  teaching  in 
primary  schools.  The  trouble  with  the  voices  gen- 
erally is  that  the  natural,  easy,  pleasant  tones  of 
the  child  are  changed  to  harsh,  unnatural  utter- 
ance. Something  may  be  done  indeed  for  these  Devices  for 
unfortunate  victims.  First,  I  would  say,  notSmf^"^" 
matter  what  grade  the  children  may  be  in,  put 
them  into  the  easiest  possible  reading,  even  if  you 
have  to  begin  with  the  First  Reader,     Select  the 


64  Talks  on  Teaching, 

most  interesting  and  the  most  dramatic  pieces. 
Dialogues,  brisk,  sharp  dialogues,  are  very  good. 
Drop  oral  reading  for  a  time,  and  lead  the  children 
to  see  vividly  the  picture  that  lies  behind  the  words. 
Have  them  tell  you  in  their  own  language  what 
they  see  in  the  word-pictures.  When  they  are  very 
much  interested,  and  are  talking  with  great  free- 
dom, ask  one  to  read  a  short  sentence.  The  pupils 
will  feel  the  shock  (if  tlie  teaching  be  skilfully 
done)  from  cheerful,  interesting  conversational 
tones  to  dull,  prosy  word-pronouncing.  Thus 
you  can  slowly  lead  them  to  form  new  ideals  in 
reading.  Your  whole  mind  as  a  teacher  should  be 
concentrated  on  the  one  great  thing  of  leading 
your  pupils  to  get  the  thought,  or  seeing  mentally 
the  picture.  If  you  hold  steadily  to  this  one  purpose, 
you  may  be  able  to  lead  them  to  read  naturally. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  question  them  sharply  upon  the 
sentences  they  are  reading.  Take  a  paragraph 
like  this,  for  instance :  ' '  Five  little  peas  in  a  pod ; 
they  were  green  and  the  pod  was  green,  so  they 
thought  all  the  world  was  green,  and  that  was  as  it 
should  be."  And  then  question,  thus:  ''Where 
were  the  peas?"  ''  How  many  peas  were  there?  " 
*'  What  kind  of  peas  were  they?  "  ''What  color 
were  the  peas?"  "What  color  was  the  pod?" 
"  Because  they  were  green,  what  did  they  think?  " 
Tlie  pupils  can  answer  correctly  only  by  the 
closest  attention  to  the  thought  expressed  by  the 
paragraph.  Ask  them  occasionally  to  read  a  whole 
sentence.  In  this  way  children  may  be  led  out  of 
the  wilderness,     Eemember,  also,  to  ^ve  pupjls  a 


Reading, — Application  of  Principles.  65 

great  deal  of  interesting  reading  adapted  to  their 
vocabulary  and  thought. 

Two  kinds  of  reading  exercises,  at  least,  should  festionsf^^" 
be  given  to  the  pupils :  First,  exercises  in  which 
every  new  word  is  carefully  taught  upon  the  black- 
board before  the  lesson  in  the  book  is  read.  Sec- 
ond, tests  in  which  pupils  try  to  read  new  selections 
without  preparation.  These  tests  should  be  fre- 
quently given — once  a  week  at  least.  The  same 
general  rules  should  be  observed  in  teaching  reading 
in  books.  Do  not  let  the  child  read  a  sentence 
aloud  until  he  knows  its  words  and  its  meaning.  If 
the  sentence  is  long,  he  should  be  allowed  to  express 
the  thought  by  phrases  or  clauses.  As  a  rule,  do 
not  let  the  pupils  in  a  class  know  who  will  be  called 
upon  to  read  next.  Do  not  give  the  thought  to  the 
pupils  orally,  but  let  them  get  it  for  themselves. 
Do  not  require  them  to  read  the  same  lesson  over 
and  over  again,  lest  they  lose  their  interest  in  it. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  the  pupils  close  their  books 
and  tell  in  their  own  words  what  they  have  read. 
In  the  second  year,  when  composition  has  been  well  Readinir 
begun,  require  pupils  to  write  one  thing  they  re- 
member of  w^hat  they  have  read ;  then  two  things ; 
three  things ;  and  finally  let  them  write  the  whole 
story  as  they  remember  it.  Ask  them  to  read  orally 
the  sentences,  descriptions,  and  stories  they  write. 
A  large  number  of  sentences,  plainly  written  on 
slips  of  paper  or  cardboard,  may  be  successfully 
used.  Give  each  pupil  a  slip.  If  one  pupil  reads 
a  sentence  correctly,  give  him  another  slip  to  read. 
For  busy- work  give  pupils  slips  to  copy,  and  let 
them  read  what  they  have  copied.     Let  pupils  takq 


66  Talks  on  Teaching, 

a  number  of  slips  and  arrange  them  for  busy-work 
into  a  little  stor j.  Then  let  them  read  the  story 
from  the  slips,  or  read  it  after  copying  it  upon  their 
slates.  Single  words,  written  or  printed  upon  card- 
board, may  be  put  together  into  sentences  and  read. 
When  the  teacher  finds,  by  false  emphasis  or  wrong 
inflection,  that  the  thought  has  not  been  correctly 
apprehended  by  the  reader,  questions  may  be  used 
with  good  effect.  By  this  means  the  attention  of 
the  pupils  wdll  be  turned  directly  upon  the  thought, 
and  their  answers  will  be  given  with  natural  tones 
and  expression,  as  in  talking.  Gradually  they  may 
be  led  to  utter  the  whole  sentence  with  expression. 
Reading  and  composition  should  be  taught  to- 
gether, the  one  assisting  the  other  at  every  step. 
Let  pupils  read  what  they  write  from  a  copy,  from 
dictation,  and  in  composition.  If  pupils  are  trained, 
as  they  may  be,  to  express  thought  correctly  and 
easily  in  writing,  their  compositions  may  be  made 
as  profitable  as  supplementary  books  in  teaching 
reading.  Let  pupils  read  one  another's  compositions. 
In  testing  the  script- work  the  list  of  words  taught 
may  be  rapidly  written  in  sentences  and  short  stories. 
If  the  pupils  can  readily  read  these,  the  teacher  may 
feel  confident  that  the  words  have  been  well  taught. 
In  book-reading  the  tests  should  be  from  books  that 
pupils  have  never  read.  Before  reading  a  para- 
graph aloud  a  short  tune  should  be  given  the  class 
The  standard  to  read  it  silently.  Finally,  the  standard  of  excel- 
lence is  indicated  by  these  two  questions :  First, 
has  the  reader  correctly  apprehended  the  thought? 
Second,  has  he  used  correct  pronunciation,  distinct 
articulation,  and  natural  tones? 


TALK  X. 

SPELLINa. 

READma  and  spelling  should  come  first  in  the^^^t  J^ 
cMld's  school-life,  so  as  to  finish  them,  and  get 
them  out  of  the  waj.  If  the  preparation  is  thorough , 
and  the  teacher  skilful,  not  a  great  amount  of 
time  need  be  given  to  either.  To  continue  the 
teaching  of  spelling,  as  is  usually  done,  through  all 
the  years  of  a  common-school  course  is  a  wasteful 
expenditure  of  time  and  strength.  What  is  spelling? 
Spelling  is  making  the  forms  of  words  correctly, 
it  is  writing  correctly,  and  should  include  capitals 
and  punctuation.  Oral  spelling  is  not  spelling  ^^r 
se^  it  is  a  description  of  the  word.  Spelling  is  the 
co-relative  of  pronunciation.  I  hear  a  word  pro- 
nounced over  and  over  till  I  can  give  it  back.  I 
see  a  word  spelled  over  and  over  till  I  can  give 
it  back.  The  only  difference  is  that  spelling  is  the 
written  or  printed  form,  and  pronunciation  is  the 
spoken.  We  learn  to  do  a  thing  by  doing  it ;  by  How  is  it 
doing  it  repeatedly ;  by  doing  it  right  every  time ; 
by  doing  it  until  it  is  well  done.  It  follows,  then, 
that  we  learn  to  make  a  word  by  making  it;  to 
make  it  accurately  by  making  it  accurately ;  to  make 
it  easily  by  making  it  many  times.  In  order  to 
know  how  a  word  looks  we  must  see  it,  and  the  best 

67 


68 


Talks  on  Teaching, 


Proper  f  unc- 
tion  of  oral 
spellins:. 


Pnrposeof 
•pelling. 


Tlie  first 
year'!  work. 


means  of  seeing  a  form  is  to  draw  it ;  therefore 
drawing  (or  copying)  words  is  the  best  means  of 
receiving  distinct  mental  impressions  of  written 
words.  If  I  spell  a  word  orally,  the  names  of  the 
letters  recall  their  forms  and  you  combine  them  in 
your  imagination.  It  is  just  as  absurd  to  try  to 
learn  drawing  by  oral  description  as  it  is  to  try  to 
learn  how  to  spell  a  word  from  hearing  it  spelled 
orally.  The  proper  function  of  oral  spelling  is  to 
describe  word-forms  already  in  the  mind ;  not  to 
bring  them  into  the  mind  by  acts  of  imagination. 
The  most  natural  and  economical  way  of  learning 
to  spell  is  to  write  words  until  we  can  write  them 
automatically. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  spelHng?  During  the 
first  year  it  is  entirely  to  prepare  for  composition,  or 
^  *  talking  with  the  pencil. ' '  Indeed,  all  spelling  is  for 
the  sake  of  composition,  and  it  has  no  other  purpose. 
The  words  first  taught  on  the  blackboard  in  reading, 
and  the  commonly  used  and  constantly  recurring 
words  of  the  child,  in  short,  the  script  vocabulary, 
should  be  the  words  first  spelled.  Bear  in  mind 
the  fact  that  word -forms  sink  into  the  mind  very 
slowly,  and  that  patient  waiting  and  working  are 
especially  required  just  here.  Make  every  step 
with  the  small  child  a  success,  otherwise  you  may  dis- 
gust the  mind  with  its  failures.  You  must  wait 
for  idea-growth,  which  cannot  be  forced.  There- 
fore do  not  have  a  child  reproduce  words  without  a 
copy  during  the  first  year.  Spend  this  time  in  prep- 
aration for  talking  with  the  pencil.  Training  in 
talking  with  the  tongue  is  one  of  the  best  ways  of 


spelling.  69 

preparing  for  this  work.  If  this  be  properly  done, 
the  words  will  drop  off  the  pencil  as  easily  and  nat- 
urally as  they  drop  off  the  tongue.  Faith  has  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  results.  It  is  a  great  element  in 
successful  teaching,  as  well  as  humility.  Accept 
crudities.  The  best  thing  which  the  child  can  do  ^^^^^  ^^' 
is  always  excellent.  You  may  take  the  hand  and 
help  the  child,  or  allow  him  to  trace  the  form, 
but  I  like  best  to  let  him  work  out  his  own  sal- 
vation. Get  to  sentences  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
after  that  keep  to  sentences,  for  they  are  the  writ- 
ten forms  of  thought  expression,  and  the  stimulus 
of  the  thought  enables  the  child  to  recall  the  word- 
forms  in  writing,  just  as  it  does  in  reading.  Do 
all  this  work  easily  and  slowly,  and  in  the  doing  of  it 
let  the  child  alone  and  don't  fuss  with  him.  If  a 
child  makes  anything  wrong,  rub  it  right  out,  make 
it  a  sort  of  dissolving  view.  Have  him  acquire  the 
power  of  copying  from  the  blackboard  ^liYi  perfect 
aGGuracy  any  sentence  he  can  read,  l^ever  accept 
any  careless  work.  Don't  scold,  but  let  the  work 
vanish  under  the  sponge  with  quiet  celerity,  and 
have  the  child  do  it  over.  A  better  vocabulary  can 
be  gained  by  writing  than  by  reading.  Form,  dur- 
ing the  first  year,  a  nucleus  vocabulary  of  written 
words,  so  distinctly  fixed  in  the  mind  that  they  can 
be  reproduced  instantly,  without  copy  and  with  per- 
fect accuracy.  Train  children  to  know  when  they 
can  see  a  word  mentally,  and  when  they  cannot. 
In  other  words,  have  them  know  when  they  don't 
know.  Say  to  them,  ''Don't  write  that  word  if 
you  don't  know  it, "  but  never  allow  them  to  guess. 


7©  Talks  on  Teaching. 

Every  guess  brings  before  the  cliildren  a  wrong 
form,  and  as  only  one  is  right  the  wrong  are  in  a 
majority.  I  would  never  allow  a  child  either  to  see 
or  to  hear  any  wrong  forms.  When  they  get  into 
the  high  school  they  may  come  in.  There  will  be 
plenty  of  time  for  false  syntax  then.  When  a  word 
is  spelled  wrong,  don't  explain,  say  nothing,  except 
perhaps,  ''You  didn't  see  right,"  and  erase  it  at 
/  once.     Cultivate  constantly  the  child's  desire  to  do 

work  well,  and  that  desire  will  absorb  all  his  en- 
ergies, leaving  no  time  for  idleness  or  mischief.  In 
dictating  read  the  sentence  in  your  best  voice,  and 
read  it  hut  once.  Pupils  should  be  trained  to  hear 
perfectly,  as  well  as  to  read  expressively.  When 
they  can  write  readily  and  accurately  from  dic- 
tation, begin  to  train  them  to  talk  with  the  pencil. 
As  soon  as  this  is  accomplished  all  spelling  per  se 
may  cease,  and  this  branch  of  study  be  taught  in 
composition.  They  should  be  able  from  this  time 
forward  to  write  page  after  page  without  a  mistake 
in  spelling,  and  with  capitals  and  punctuation-marks 
correctly  placed. 


TALK  XL 


WRITING. 


I  nAVE  called  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  ^^Reasoiis^^_ 
second  great  means  of  expression,  i.e.,  by  writing,  ^I'^^^^^^^eJ^ 
should  be  placed  in  the  power  of  the  child  just  as 
soon  as  possible  after  he  enters  school.  One  great 
advantage  of  written  over  oral  work  is  that  the 
written  enables  the  teacher  to  get  at  and  develop 
the  individu9.1ity  of  the  child.  In  oral  lessons  the 
answers  of  bright  children  are  constantly  copied 
and  imitated  by  others,  whereas  in  written  com- 
position each  child  must  express  his  thoughts  for 
himself  and  by  himself.  By  means  of  the  com- 
mand of  writing,  the  child  can  be  trained  to  do  a 
great  deal  of  busy-work,  thus  keeping  his  mind 
and  hand  constantly  employed.  The  third  reason 
for  teaching  writing  very  early  in  the  course  is 
that  the  work  necessary  to  the  command  of  good 
legible  handwriting  may  be  entirely  finished ;  and 
the  time  heretofore  taken  throughout  the  eight  or 
nine  years  for  writing  may  be  used  for  something 
more  profitable.  Writing  may  be  kept  in  the  best 
condition  throughout  the  whole  course  if  language 
is  properly  tauglit,  and  the  rule,  ' '  JSTever  allow  any 
careless  work,"  closely  followed. 

There  are  two  things  to  be  acquired  in  writing : 

71 


72 


Talks  on  Teaching, 


Correct 
training  ver- 
sus individ- 
naUty. 


lemrs^esfab-'^i^s*?  the  forms  of  letters.     Second,    movement 
listed.  ^^^Yi  the  pen.     The  conventional  forms  of  the  let- 

ters has  been  established  bj  the  highest  authorities 
in  writing  in  this  country.  All  the  systems  in  our 
schools  have  substantially  the  same  forms.  The 
slant  of  letters  (between  51  and  52  degrees)  is  very 
nearly  identical  in  all.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to 
discuss  whether  these  forms  are  right  or  wrong. 
It  is  true  that  when  pupils  enter  the  upper  primary 
and  grammar  grades  they  are  trained  to  make 
these  established  forms.  It  is  a  great  saving  of 
time  and  toil  to  make  these  forms  right  in  the  be- 
ginning, so  they  will  never  have  to  be  changed. 
Allow  children  to  display  what  is  called  their  in- 
dividuality at  the  start  (that  is  to  wi'ite  any  way  and 
every  way)  and  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  train 
them  into  good  handwriting  when  they  take  the 
pen  than  it  would  be  if  they  had  never  written  at 
all.  Many  claim  that  fixed  forms  of  writing  injure 
the  child's  individuality,  or  destroys  the  character 
displayed  in  writing;  as  well  might  we  say  that 
the  child  should  be  allowed  to  pronounce  words  as 
he  pleased,  as  the  fixed  pronunciation  acquired  by 
imitation  of  correct  standards  would  seriously  afTect 
his  individuality.  The  most  potent  reason  wliy 
teachers  do  not  train  children  to  write  correctly  is 
that  they  cannot  write  well  themselves,  and  will 
not  take  the  trouble  to  learn.  Teachers  should 
train  themselves  by  constant  and  careful  practice 
to  write  with  a  great  degree  of  pei*fection  on  the 
blackboard,  so  as  to  give  the  children  a  good  ideal 
toward  which  thoy  can  work.     In  this  question  of 


Writing.  73 

cnaracter  in  writing  there  is  one  rule  that  teachers 
would  do  well  to  follow,  in  writing  as  in  all  other 
things — precision  precedes  ease.  That  is,  let  the 
established  form  be  thoroughly  acquired,  and  then, 
when  the  child  has  formed  a  character,  that  char- 
acter will  go  into  the  writing.  The  painful  atten- 
tion now  required  to  decipher  the  manuscript  of 
most  great  men  and  w^omen  could  be  given  to 
something  else  more  beneficial. 

The  foundation  of  spelling:  should  be  learned  en-    Everything 
.     ,       ,  .  .  AT  1  •         1     should  be  care- 

tirely   by   writing.      As   we   have    shown   m   the  fuUy  copied. 

application  of  the  principles  of  teaching  reading, 
every  word  that  the  child  learns  from  the  black- 
board should  be  carefully  copied  on  the  slate  or 
paper.  These  copies,  as  I  have  said,  should  be 
written  with  exceeding  care.  At  the  same  time 
technical  writing  should  begin.  In  this  there  are 
certain  elementary  principles  that  are  the  keynotes 
of  the  whole.  Find  them  and  follow  them,  and 
you  are  certain  of  success.  Begin  with  one  letter 
and  stay  upon  that  letter  till  it  is  learned.  The 
child  must  have  the  ideal  to  follow,  and  that  comes 
slowly  into  the  mind  through  the  eye.  Begin  Sng^gestions 
with  this  fundamental  form,  found  in  the  first  let- in  technic. 
ter  taught,  and  work  on  until  you  get  it,  even  if  it 
takes  a  year  or  two  years.  The  children  will  not 
tire  till  the  teacher  gets  tired.  Have  the  standard, 
the  ideal,  clear,  and  they  will  work  toward  it  pa- 
tiently. Get  them  to  master  the  foundation  form, 
which  is  also  the  simplest,  and  then  take  the  next 
shortest  and  easiest  step.  I  have  always  taken  the 
small  letter  i  as  my  fundamental  form,  and  have 


74  Talks  on  Teaching. 

taught  the  writing  of  the  alphabet  in  the  following 
order : 


Chart  of  let- 
ters arranged 
in  order  of 
teaciiing. 


,4^.44^  .4^^y:Zyydry^tyiy^7m4' 


Do  not  allow  the  children  to  try  a  new  letter  till 
they  have  mastered  the  one  upon  which  they  are 


Writing.  75 

working.  In  this  way  you  will  teach  writing  once 
for  all,  and  there  will  be  no  need  of  pursuing  it  as 
a  study  in  the  grammar  grades. 

Pen- writing  should  be  taught  just  as  soon  as  a  Movement  in 
child  has  thoroughly  acquired  the  forms  of  ^^^^^J^^gEin 
letters.  It  should  begin  certainly  in  the  third 
year,  and  may  begin  in  the  second.  This  is  a 
purely  gymnastic  exercise,  and,  like  all  gymnastic 
exercises,  position  and  movement  should  be  acquired 
by  the  greatest  precision  and  accuracy.  The  simple  |,e^o*j!  *° 
thing  to  be  accomplished  in  pen-writing  is  that  a  per-  piished. 
fectly  smooth  line  may  be  made  on  the  paper  by 
both  nibs  of  the  pen.  Give  very  few  directions,  ^^"^2^1 
and  follow  them  strictly.  Erect,  easy  position; 
both  feet  squarely  planted  on  the  floor ;  knees  at  a 
little  more  than  right  angles ;  forearm  on  the  table ; 
elbow  never  drawn  back  of  a  right  angle.  Slide 
on  the  nail  of  the  fourth  or  ring  finger.  Let  the 
pen  rest  in  the  pen-fingers  (the  thumb  and  first  two 
fingers),  the  pen-holder  opposite  the  knuckle. 
Give  a  great  many  simple  exercises  in  movement. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  perform  these  exercises  to 
rhythmic  movement,  regulated  by  piano-playing. 
It  is  of  little  use  to  have  one  position  and  drill  for 
these  gymnastic  exercises  in  writing,  and  to  have 
another  and  entirely  different  one  in  the  regular 
writing,  composition,  etc.,  of  the  pupil.  A  few 
months'  thorough  work  in  position  and  movement, 
and  then  rigidly  holding  pupils  to  the  same  in  all 
their  writing,  will  give  each  child  an  excellent 
handwriting,  unless  some  physical  difficulty  inter- 
venes. 


TALK  XIL 

TALKING  WITH  THE  PENCIL. 

ciSdwSe?!?*  When  the  child  enters  the  school-room,  he 
enters  school,  (jomes  into  a  new  world,  and  should  bring  all  that 
is  good  and  pleasant  in  his  old  world  with  him. 
The  strange  surroundings,  the  new  faces,  banish 
from  his  consciousness  almost  everything  but  won- 
der and  fear.  If  to  this  is  added  a  teacher  strong 
in  discipline,  who  would  put  the  pupil  as  soon  as 
possible  in  the  well-worn  grooves  of  order,  it  is 
likely  that  fear  and  consequent  timidity  will  be  the 
controlling  power  in  the  cliild  while  he  is  in  school. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  warm,  affectionate  greeting, 
a  cordial  shake  of  the  hand,  and  something  to  do  or 
see  that  is  pleasant,  from  the  moment  that  he  comes 
into  the  school-room,  will  drive  away  his  fears,  and 
allow  his  own  nature  and  his  own  knowledge  and 
skill  to  have  free  course.  Give  a  child  something 
to  do  the  moment  he  enters  the  school-room.  A 
piece  of  chalk  to  work  on  the  board,  a  slate  and 
pencil,  a  pile  of  blocks,  anything  to  attract  his  at- 
tention. Lead  the  child  to  talk  as  freely  in  the 
school-room  as  he  does  at  home.  He  has  learned 
idioms,  pronounciation,  accent,  use  of  language,  by 
Exercises  In  imitation.     Continue  this  process  of  imitation  by 

talking  witli  ....  -,  .  -      ,  i 

the  tongue,      exerciscs  m  imitating  the   voice   oi   the   teacher. 

76 


Talking  with  the  Pencil.  77 

Have  him  pronounce  sentences,  suiting  the  words  to 
the  action,  thus — teacher  stands  before  the  class 
and  says  (holding  up  her  right  hand),  "  This  is  my 
right  hand, ' '  the  children  do  the  same ;  ' '  This  is 
my  left  hand,"  "I  can  stand  up,"  ''See  me 
stand  up,"  ''I  can  run,"  "  I  can  walk,"  ''I  can 
jump,"  ''I  can  skip,"  etc.;  always  uttering  the 
word  as  the  action  is  performed.  Then  have  pu- 
pils review.  Ask  them  how  many  things  they  can 
do ;  and  have  one  pupil  after  another  perform  acts, 
and  tell  at  the  same  time  what  they  are  doing. 
Let  the  teacher  point  to  objects  and  say,  "  There  is 
the  clock, "  ' '  There  is  a  picture, ' '  and  have  the 
pupils  imitate  her.  Use  here,  there,  this,  those,  in 
the  same  way.  Place  objects  in  different  positions, 
and  have  pupils  tell  where  they  are.  Introduce 
the  easiest  object  lessons.  Lead  pupils  to  tell  what 
they  see  in  the  simplest  possible  way.  Plants, 
stuffed  animals,  and  other  objects  of  the  kind  may 
be  used  with  good  effect.  Lessons  in  Form  and 
Color,  and  in  fact  all  the  lessons  laid  down  in  the 
Manuals  of  Object-teaching,  may  be  used  as  helps 
for  the  teacher  if  she  allows  the  child  to  see  for 
himself,  and  use  his  own  language  in  talking.  Pict- 
ures may  be  used  in  the  same  way.  The  great 
purpose  should  be  to  train  the  child  to  talk  freely 
and  correctly.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  note  down  all 
the  idioms  a  child  has  at  his  command.     Faults  in  ^„9°Fl^-?°^  °l 

Dad  i]at}its  aud 

pronunciation  should  be  corrected  by  repetition  of  ^^<^c^*<^^^S' 
the   right   pronunciation.       Faults  in   articulation 
should  be  carefully  corrected  by  leading  the  child  to 
place  the  organs  of  speech  in  the  proper  positions. 


78  Talks  on  Teaching. 

Until  the  child  talks  with  a  good  degree  of  freedom 
little  or  no  effort  should  be  made  to  change  the  in- 
correct use  of  language.  After  this  important 
period  is  passed  pupils  should  not  be  allowed  to  use 
ungrammatical  forms.  The  simple  remedy  for  in- 
accurate habits  of  speech  is  to  give  the  child  many 
opportunities  to  use  proper  sentences.  This  should 
be  done  almost  invariably  with  objects.  If,  for  in- 
stance, the  cliild  uses  is  for  are^  lead  the  child  to 
talk  about  numbers  of  objects  before  him,  using  the 
^a^TJ^^I^   word  are.     You  will  remember  that  I  said  that  all 

and  different 

taugiif  objec-^'  "®^  idioms  should  be  learned  in  the  oral  language, 
tiveiy.  and  not  in  the  written.     All  the  modifications   of 

subject  and  predicate  may  be  taught  objectively. 
For  instance,  the  adverbs  and  adjectives.  Objects 
may  be  placed  in  different  positions, — for  example, 
a  hat  upon  the  table, — and  the  question  asked, 
' '  Wliere  is  the  hat  ?  ' '  All  the  prepositions  may  be 
taught  in  this  manner.  Degrees  of  comparison  may 
be  taught  by  comparing  objects.  ' '  This  is  a  little 
block, "  "  That  block  is  larger  than  this, ''  "  This 
block  is  the  largest. ' '  Adjectives  may  be  taught 
by  leading  the  child  to  see  the  qualities  of  objects. 
What  should  When  the  child  or  a  group  of  children  has  been 
fng  with  the  trained  to  observe  attentively,  and  to  talk  fluently, 
the  work  of  teaching  Eeading  may  profitably  be 
begun.  It  is  generally  an  extravagant  use  of  time 
to  begin  reading  before  this  power  is  acquired. 
When  teachers  fully  comprehend  that  education  is 
the  generation  of  power,  they  will  know  better  how 
to  adapt  the  steps  of  progress  to  the  mind's  abihty. 
Haste  makes  a  terrible  waste  when  it  consists  in 


Talking  with  the  Pencil.  79 

taxing  the  child's  strength  in  an  undue  degree. 
I  have  given  in  a  former  talk  the  method  by 
which  I  would  teach  Spelling.  The  first  year 
should  be  spent  in  training  the  child  to  copy  (in 
sentences)  all  the  words  he  learns  in  reading,  with 
absolute  accuracy.  The  beginning  of  the  second 
year  dictation  may  be  given.  I  wish  to  repeat 
here  two  rules  for  Spelling  that  should  be  invari- 
ably followed:  First,  train  the  children  to  know 
when  they  don't  know  a  word.  The  teacher 
should  write  words  which  the  children  do  not  know 
on  the  blackboard,  until  they  are  able  to  use  the 
dictionary.  Second,  never  allow  a  child  to  write  a 
word  incorrectly,  or  see  a  word  incorrectly  spelled, 
if  it  be  possible  to  prevent  it.  When  it  is  found 
that  pupils  can  write  from  dictation  all  the  words 
they  have  previously  used  in  copying,  the  Talking 
with  the  Pencil  should  begin. 


TALK   XIII. 

TALKING   WITH    THE   PENCIL,    CONTINUED. 

Thought  be-  All  education  consists  of  the  development  of 
sion.^^^"'"  thought  and  expression.  The  thought  must  pre- 
cede the  expression.  Thought,  as  I  have  explained, 
is  the  relation  of  ideas.  The  best  stimulus  the 
child  can  have  for  clear  thought  is  the  observation 
of  objects  in  relation.  The  simplest  way  to  bring 
thought  into  the  mind,  in  order  to  express  it  with 
the  pencil,  is  to  perform  some  simple  act.  Let  the 
teacher  take  up,  for  example,  a  block,  and  ask, 
cifei'iioriS-  ''  ^^^^  di<i  I  <io  ?"  ''Tell  me  upon  your  slates 
workT*^^^^  what  I  did, ' '  and  have  pupils  write  an  appropriate 
sentence,  each  writing  it  in  his  own  way.  Let  the 
teacher  sit  down  in  a  chair,  stand  up,  walk,  run, 
reach,  laugh,  sing,  shake  hands,  rap  on  the  table, 
point  to  the  clock,  and  perform  a  thousand  simple 
acts,  and  have  pupils  tell  with  their  pencils  what 
she  has  done.  Let  a  pupil  perform  an  act,  and 
have  the  others  describe  it  with  their  pencils. 
Let  two  pupils  plan,  and  do,  something  for  their 
playmates  to  describe.  In  this  way  all  the  idioms 
that  a  child  uses,  and  even  new  idioms,  may  be 
introduced.  Pupils  may  be  led  to  use  the  various 
modifications  of  subject  and  predicate  in  single 
words  (adjectives  or  adverbs),  phrases,  and  clauses. 

80 


Talking  with  the  Pencil.  8i 

Prepositions  may  be  taught  in  the  written  language, 
as  they  were  in  the  oral,  by  placing  objects  in  differ- 
ent positions;  adverbs,  by  modifying  actions,  as, 
walking  slowly  and  swiftly^  etc.  In  fact,  all  the 
ways  I  have  just  given  for  oral  work  may  be  used 
in  the  written.  Every  teacher  should  have  a  large 
collection  of  good  pictures.  These  may  be  cut  out 
of  illustrated  books  and  papers,  and  pasted  upon 
stout  cardboard.  Let  each  child  take  a  picture, 
and  write  upon  the  slate  one  thing  that  he  sees  in 
the  picture.  After  he  has  done  that  well  let  him 
write  another  and  another.     Great  care  should  be    Suggestions 

,  .,  ,  .  .,  .  .       as  to  training 

taken  to  tram  children  to  write  sentences,  usm^  in  capitaiiza- 

'  ,     tioD,punctua- 

the  proper  capitals  and  punctuation.  This  can  botion.etc. 
done  only  by  having  them  write  a  great  number  of 
single  sentences.  They  should  not  be  allowed  to 
write  connected  sentences  until  they  have  formed 
the  habit  of  beginning  and  ending  the  sentences 
properly.  Teachers  will  often  allow  children  to 
write  a  whole  page  without  the  proper  separation 
of  sentences,  one  from  the  other,  repeating  ' '  and ' ' 
and  other  words  over  and  over  again.  This  is  sim- 
ply leading  them  into  bad  habits.  A  good  way  to 
prevent  this  is  to  require  pupils  to  ask  and  answer 
questions,  writing  both  question  and  answer.  Pict-  The  nse  of 
ures  may  be  used  in  a  great  many  ways.  "Write 
questions  on  the  board  to  aid  the  pupils — such  as, 
' '  What  things  do  you  see  in  the  picture?  '*  *  *  Where 
are  they?"  ^' What  are  they  doing?"  ''What  have 
they  been  doing?  "  ''  What  do  you  think  they  will 
do?  "  ''What  are  the  names  of  the  persons  in  the 
picture?  "    [JV^ote. — Let  pupils  give  names  accord- 


82  Talks  on  Teaching. 

ing  to  their  own  fancy.]  These  and  many  other 
questions  may  be  asked  to  stimulate  investigation. 
When  the  proper  time  arrives, — that  is,  when  pupils 
can  write  single  sentences  correctly, — ^have  them 
describe  the  picture  fully ;  and  then  have  them  im- 
agine and  write  a  story  about  the  picture.  This  they 
will  do  with  great  pleasure.  From  the  first  chil- 
dren should  be  trained  to  tell,  in  their  own  language, 
what  they  have  read ;  either  at  the  close  of  the  les- 
son, or  at  the  beginning  of  the  succeeding  lesson. 
When  they  begin  to  talk  with  the  pencO,  after  each 
lesson  in  reading  let  them  go  to  their  seats  and 
write  one  thing  they  have  read.  Follow  this  by 
two  things,  then  three,  then  four ;  and  at  last  have 
them  write  all  they  can  remember, 
in?/ wron?;^'  Objects  may  be  used  as  the  best  means  of  training 
and  right.  children  to  talk  with  the  pencil.  I  wish  to  say  a 
word  here  about  object- teaching.  That  object- 
teaching  which  tries  to  force  a  child  to  see  all  the 
teacher  sees  in  an  object,  or  has  prepared,  by  copy- 
ing a  schedule  of  things  to  be  seen  from  a  Manual 
of  Object-teaching,  and  then  leads  the  child  to  use 
a  lot  of  strange  words,  like  ^'opaque,"  ** trans- 
parent," ''flexible,"  etc.,  at  the  same  time  he  is 
struggling  to  observe,  is  to  my  mind  as  completely 
wrong  as  the  old-fashioned  text-book  rote  learning. 
In  the  first  place,  the  whole  attention  should  be  di- 
rected to  the  observation  of  the  object,  without 
being  encumbered  by  new  words.  Secondly,  the 
child  can  see  very  little  in  the  object  at  first.  The 
attempt  to  make  him  see  that  which  the  mature 
mind  only  has  the  power  to  observe  is  manifestly 


Talking  with  the  Pencil.  83 

wrong.  The  rule  to  be  followed  is,  Place  the  ob- 
ject before  the  child,  let  him  see  what  he  can,  and 
write  what  he  sees.  Then  by  questioning  and  de- 
vices lead  him  to  see  more. 

Follow  the  child,  and  not  make  the  child  follow  - 
you.     Thus,  gradually  and   naturally,  the   child's 
powers   of   observation  will   develop.      In   other 
words,  the  object  should  ask  the  questions,  and  the 
child  should  answer  them. 

Natural  objects  are  the  very  best  means  of  train-  natural,  ob- 
ing  the  observing  faculties ;  and  at  the  same  time  language  les- 
the  child  can  be  led  to  acquire  the  elementary  facts 
or  ahcs  oi  Science.  Seeds  sown  on  brown  paper, 
or  in  cotton,  their  germination  and  growth  watched, 
and  every  change  noted  by  the  children,  on  paper 
or  slate,  may  be  used  to  arouse  the  greatest  curios- 
ity, and  at  the  same  time  to  teach  language  in  a 
very  effective  way.  Plants  inside  of  the  room, 
and  out-of-doors  shrubs,  trees,  and  flowers,  should 
be  made  the  subjects  of  object  and  language  les- 
sons. I  trust  that  I  shall  live  to  see  the  day 
when  both  Reading  and  Composition  will  be  beauti- 
fully taught  by  the  inspiring  stimulus  of  facts, 
gained  from  natural  objects,  that  will  lay  a  grand 
foundation  for  a  future  knowledge  of  all  the  Nat- 
ural Sciences. 

All  lessons  in  objects,  form,  and  color  should  be 
made  language  lessons.  The  highest  perfection  of 
composition  is  reached  in  accurate  descriptions  of 
objects.  Toward  this  end  all  teaching  of  language 
should  steadily  tend,  without  the  slightest  forcing 
or  overdriving. 


S4  Talks  on  Teaching, 

tiS^stSS^*"  Every  teacher  should  be  a  good  story-teller. 
By  constant  practice  she  should  be  able  to  tell  a 
story  in  a  clear,  simple,  concise  manner.  Hans 
Chiistian  Andersen's,  Grimm's,  and  Hebel's 
charming  stories  may  be  told  by  the  teacher,  and 
then  written  out  by  the  pupil, 
faiportant  In  conclusion,  there  are  certain  important  rules 
to  be  observed  at  every  step.  First,  always  be 
sure  that  the  thought  is  in  the  mind  before  you  ask 
the  pupil  to  express  it.  Second,  never  allow  any 
careless  work;  never  permit  a  pupil  to  write  a 
word  or  sentence  wrong,  as  I  have  said,  if  it  be 
possible  to  prevent  it.  It  is  a  good  plan  for  the 
teacher  to  move  around  among  her  pupils  while 
they  are  writing,  and  closely  watch  all  they  are 
doing.  Erase  every  mistake,  and  have  pupils  try 
again.  Such  expressions  as,  ' '  You  do  not  see 
well,"  *'  I  am  glad  you  see  something  in  the  pict- 
ure" (or  the  object),  ''Look  again,  and  look 
closer,"  ''Be  very  careful  while  you  are  writing 
that  word,"  may  be  used  by  the  teacher  with  good 
effect.  Third,  have  pupils  read  everything  they 
write.  Pupils  may  read  each  other's  stories. 
Use  ruled  brown  paper  freely  in  writing.  When 
pupils  get  command  of  the  pen,  have  them  use  ink 
in  writing  their  stories. 

If  this  plan  of  training  pupils  to  talk  with  their 
pencils  which  I  have  tried  to  outline  be  closely 
followed,  I  am  quite  sure,  from  my  experience, 
that  every  child  of  ordinary  ability  may  be  trained 
to  write  accurately  and  rapidly  page  after  page  of 
good   English  in   three  years.     And,  above   all^ 


Talking  with  the  Pencil.  85 

they  may  be  trained  to  talk  with  their  pencils 
with  as  much  eagerness  and  pleasure  as  they  talk 
with  their  tongues.  But  the  best  result  is  not 
found  in  correct  expression,  but  in  the  power  to 
think. 


TALK  XIV, 


COMPOSITION. 


Resuita  of         In  the  previous  talk  I  tried  to  show  how  chil- 

previous  ^ 

work.  (jpen   may    be   trained   in   three    years   to    write 

legibly,  correctly,  and  rapidly  a  page  of  English ; 
that  good,  patient,  careful  teaching  and  training 
will  lead  them  to  talk  with  the  pencil  as  correctly 
and  fluently  as  with  the  tongue.  The  greatest  re- 
sult is  that  they  love  to  do  this  work,  and  that  they 
are  entirely  prepared  by  a  thoroughly  formed  habit 
ever  after  to  express  whatever  thoughts  they  may  have 
in  good  Enghsh.  Education  consists,  primarily,  in 
the  development  of  thought  and  expression.  Ex- 
pression is  used  by  the  true  teacher  simply  and 
solely  as  a  means  of  knowing  just  how  and  what 
the  pupil  thinks,  in  order  to  lead  him  to  higher 
struggles  and  greater  victories.  I  am  aware  that 
most  so-called  teaching  consists  in  the  training  of 
expression  without  regard  to  thought — that  is,  the 
child's  imitative  powers  alone  are  cultivated,  while 
his  creative  strength  is  left  to  pine  and  wither  under 

Every  lesson  a  mass  of  meaningless  words.     If  the  teaching  is 
a  language  ^  ^ 

lesson.  real  teaching — i.e.,  thought  development — all  the 

studies  that  now  follow  (after  the  third  year),  Geog- 
raphy, Arithmetic,  and  the  Sciences,  may  be  made 
the  best  kinds  of  language   lessons.     Every  real 

80 


Composition,  87 

lesson  is  carefully  planned  and  given  to  evolve 
thought.  The  child's  previous  training  has  given 
him  the  power  to  give  to  the  teacher  all  the  thought 
evolved,  either  orally  or  in  writing.  During  the 
lesson  the  thought  is  given  orally;  when  it  is 
finished,  it  should  invariably  be  given  to  the  teacher 
in  writing.  All  true  upbuilding  of  any  science 
consists  of  logical  premises,  sequences,  and  conclu- 
isions.  Each  step  grows  out  of  the  consistent  union 
of  all  previous  thought  of  which  each  lesson  is  a 
constituent  part.  It  holds  true,  then,  that  if  the 
thought  evolved  in  the  pupil's  mind  be  logical  its 
expression,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  will  be — 
that  is,  real  teaching,  assisted  by  constant  written 
expression,  must  train  a  child  into  the  highest  art  of 
written  composition. 

There  is  little  or  no  necessity  of  going  outside  of  ^^^S®^**'*^ 
the  regular  branches  for  the  best  kind  of  language- ^^a^^^ " 
teaching.  Elementary  Geography  furnishes  an 
exceedingly  fruitful  source  for  charming  written 
of  jiescriptions  of  hills,  valleys,  plains,  coast-lines,  bays, 
>xilfs,  rivers,  springs,  in  fact  all  the  forms  of  water 
md  land  under  the  pupil's  observation,  which  alone 
3an  give  the  power  of  imagining  all  unseen  forms  of 
and  and  water.  When  these  unseen  forms  are 
noulded  and  described,  and  the  great,  magnificent 
mseen  world  is  imaged  through  and  by  the  seen, 
ill  these  creations  of  the  imagination  will  make  in- 
spiring subjects  for  composition. 

Take  one  step  farther,  and  from  the  earth  spring 
he  countless  forms  of  vegetation.  Trees,  plants, 
'md  flowers  may  be  described  by  the  child,  and 


88  Talks  on  Teaching, 

each  description  be  an  inspiration  to  further  obser- 
vation. 

The  animals  may  be  described  by  the  quick  pens 
of  the  children.  Shelter,  clothing,  cities,  com- 
merce, and  all  the  interesting  subjects  with  which 
Geography  fairly  teems,  form  an  exhaustless  source 
of  excellent  themes.  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity 
may  be  left  to  repose  serenely  in  the  lists  of  subjects 
for  compositions,  until  they  have  time  to  bud  and 
blossom  in  the  child's  heart, 
mstoryto  History,  so  closely  allied  and  growing  out  of 
ciMs  in  com-  Geography,  if  properly  taught,  may  be  made  a 
most  excellent  means  of  language-teaching.  Pict- 
ures illustrating  the  great  events  in  history  may 
be  described.  Following  this,  the  teacher  should 
tell  short,  interesting  stories  in  history,  which  may  be 
given  back  by  the  ready  writers.  Then  comes  a 
carefully  arranged  list  of  topics  in  history.  The 
school  library,  if  teachers  and  school  committees 
have  done  their  duty,  is  rich  with  historical  works 
adapted  to  the  capacity  of  children.  The  village  or 
city  library  also  is  at  their  command.  Tlie  eager 
children  are  led  to  read  up  the  topic  in  a  large 
number  of  excellent  books.  In  the  hour  of  recita- 
tion they  pour  out  their  new-found  treasures  for  their 
schoolmates  to  hear  and  discuss,  and  for  the  teacher 
to  mould  into  consistency  and  order.  Then  comes 
the  happy  time  when  they  can  tell  the  whole  story 
in  their  own  words  on  clean  sheets  of  white  paper, 
I  am  describing  no  Utopia,  but  a  reality  that 
comes  to  those  who  have  an  immense  faith  in  th 
capabihties  of  human  development.     Every  pupi 


Composition,  ^9 

in  a  grammar  school,  at  the  end  of  an  eight  years' 
course,  may  be  trained  to  do  this  beautiful  work. 
You  who,  instead  of  feeding  the  child's  wonderful, 
exhaustless  power  of  imagining  the  good,  the  true, 
and  the  beautiful,  driven  where  the  cutting  lash  of 
tradition  turns  the  grand  study  of  history  into  a  dry, 
stupid  rote-learning  of  pages,  dates,  and  meaningless 
generalizations,  will  remember  that  the  New  Edu- 
cation leads  you  to  the  heights  beyond  Jordan, 
within  sight  of  the  Promised  Land.  Do  not  turn 
back  to  the  rocky,  sandy  desert  of  Sin. 

Arithmetic,  if  it  be  the  study  of  numbers  of  ^^^^^ 
things,  instead  of  figures,  has  for  its  purpose  the  «^<^*  ^^fi^*^' 
development  of  exact  logic.  And  if  the  logic  is 
exact  the  statements  and  rules  and  definitions  must 
be.  The  pupils  are  led  to  discover  every  fact, 
process,  and  generalization  for  themselves,  and  then 
to  state  what  they  have  discovered  in  concise  lan- 
guage. Thus  Arithmetic  may  be  made  to  fill  an 
indispensable  place  in  language-training. 

I   have   spoken  of  the   use  of  the  elements   of  g^Si^f^* 
E'atural  Science  as  an  excellent  means  of  ^a-nguage- J^jt^^J^^^^^^ 
teaching.     From  what  I  have  already  said  you  will  ^®®** 
see  that  each  step  in  the  teaching  of  Science  may  be 
materially  assisted  by  written  descriptions.     There   ito  necessity 
are  teachers  who  stoutly  aver  that  the  child  can  ing-book. 
spend  weeks  and  months,  and  even  years,  upon  the 
study  of  columns  of  words  in  that  expressionless 
volume   called  the  Spelling-book.     ITow  I  would 
like  to  ask,  If  the  pupil  writes,  and  writes  correctly, 
day  after  day  all  the  words  he  learns  in  History, 
Geography,  Arithmetic,  and  the  Natural  Sciences, 


90  Talks  on  Teaching* 

how   many  more   words  does  he  need  to  learn? 

What  is  the  use  of  the  SpeUing-book? 

When  should     When  should  Grammar  be  taught?     After  the 
Granunar  he  ^ 

taught?         facts  necessary  to  the  metaphysical  generalizations, 

that  are  indispensable  for  the  comprehension  of  the 
difficult  science  of  language;  when  the  mind  is 
ready  to  use  a  high  form  of  logical  deduction. 
What  is  the  use  of  Grammar?  First,  to  enable 
the  mind  to  look  more  closely  into  the  masterpieces 
of  composition,  in  such  a  way  as  to  comprehend  the 
thought  of  an  author  in  all  its  fulness  and  complete- 
ness; second,  to  express  thought  orally  and  in  writ- 
ing, in  the  clearest,  most  concise,  and  beautiful 
manner.  Correct  speaking  and  correct  writing  can 
only  be  learned  by  constantly  speaking  and  writing 
use^of  incor-  correctly.     1^0  incorrect  form  should  ever  be  pre- 

rect  forms ;  *'  -"■ 

false  syntax,  sented  to  pupils  Until  they  reach  the  age  of  careful 
reflection.     The  custom  of  writing  incorrect  syntax 

Partiin:.  for  children  to  correct  is  a  vicious  one.  Many 
teachers  who  are  now  breaking  away  from  the 
cast-iron  method  of  teaching  parsing  and  analysis 
are  diluting  the  old  forms  by  an  infusion  of  weaker 
ones — i.e.^  they  are  training  children  to  use  words 
for  the  sake  of  using  them,  without  regard  to  the 

Word  les-  thought  that  should  always  inspire  their  use.  They 
lead  children  to  make  sentences,  using  ''are," 
"is,"  ''been,"  etc.,  just  (as  I  have  said)  for  the 
purpose  of  using  the  word.  Now,  if  the  child  is 
continually  writing  from  the  second  year  to  the 
eighth  inclusive,  and  every  sentence  is  written 
under  the  stimulus  of  thought,  he  will  use  all  the 
necessary  words  correctly  and  repeatedly.     There 


sons. 


Composition,  91 

is,  therefore,  little  or  no  need  of  purely  word  les- 
sons. But  this  teaching  of  grammar  is  infinitely  Diagrams, 
better  than  the  old  way  of  taking  a  sentence  that 
was  made  to  express  a  beautiful  thought,  or  behind 
which  lies  a  grand  picture,  and  mangling  it  by  hard 
names,  cutting  it  intto  minute  pieces,  hanging  its 
mutilated  remains  on  cruel  diagrams;  while  the 
author's  meaning  remains  as  far  away  from  the  pu- 
pil's mind  as  the  bright  stars  in  heaven.  There 
will  come  a  time,  in  the  course  of  proper  develop- 
ment, when  teaching  technical  grammar  may  be 
made  a  most  excellent  and  profitable  study ;  when 
the  rich  mines  of  thought  and  emotion  of  which  our 
Hterature  is  full  may  be  opened  to  the  growing 
minds  of  children.  Technical  grammar,  to  my 
mind,  as  it  is  usually  taught,  effectually  disgusts 
children,  and  bars  the  way  to  deeper  insight  into 
the  beauty  and  strength  of  language. 


TALK  XV. 

NUMBEB. 

What  it  At  the  outset  of  this  discussion  three  questions 

should  be  very  carefully  answered :  What  is  number  ? 
"What  can  be  done  with  numbers?  What  are  the 
uses  of  number?  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  we  know  definitely  and  exactly  the  nature  of 
the  subject  we  teach ;  its  relations  to  other  subjects ; 
its  place  as  a  means  of  mental  development ;  and  its 
utility  in  the  affairs  of  life.  If  the  correct  defi- 
nition of  the  subject  be  not  entirely  comprehended, 
all  attempts  at  teaching  will  be  vague  and  unsatis- 
factory. The  usual  definitions  of  number  are  open 
to  criticism ;  for  instance,  ' '  A  number  is  a  col- 
lection of  units. ' '  A  collection  of  objects  of  the 
same  kind  may  be  designated  as  a  few^  several^ 
some^  etc.  Thus  you  see  the  definition  fails  in  defi- 
niteness.  The  best  way  to  define  anything  is  to 
concentrate  the  mind  upon  the  thing  to  be  defined. 
I  place,  for  example,  several  blocks  before  you. 
You  can  say,  *' There  are  some  blocks,"  '*  There 
are  several  blocks,"  **  There  are  2^  few  blocks." 
*  *  Some, "  * '  several, ' '  and  * '  few  ' '  are  adjectives 
limiting  the  substantive  "blocks."  If  you  wish 
to  be  more  definite  in  regard  to  a  collection  of 
blocks,  by  a  closer  inspection  yo«  are  enabled  to  say, 

9a 


Number.  93 

*'  There  are  five  blocks."  "  Five  "  is  also  a  limit- 
ing adjective.  What  is  the  difference  between  the 
former  Kmitations  of  '^few,"  ''some,"  and  ''sev- 
eral, ' '  and  of  the  last,  ' '  five ' '  ?  The  difference, 
you  see,  is  in  definiteness  of  limitation  of  the  col- 
lection. "  Five  "  answers  definitely  the  question, 
' '  How  many  blocks  ?  "  It  is  difficult  to  formulate 
a  satisfactory  definition  from  these  facts.  The  best 
we  can  give  at  present  is  that  number  definitely 

limits  obiects  of  the  same  kind  to  how  many.    The   Limita^ 

of  sense- 
correlative  of  this  definition  is  that  surfaces,  lines,  and  imag 

tion. 
corners,  or  points  definitely  limit  volumes  or  bodies 

of  matter  in  regard  to  dimensions.  You  will  ob- 
serve that  number  definitely  limits  objects  of  the 
same  kind  in  regard  to  how  many.  ]S"umber  limits 
nothing  vague  or  intangible.  Number  is  not  a  quality 
of  objects  or  any  pai-t  of  an  object ;  it  simply  limits 
objects  of  the  same  kind  in  one  particular  way.  "We 
can  make  these  limitations  first  by  the  senses ;  by 
sight,  touch,  and  hearing.  But  these  limitations  of 
the  senses  must  have  their  limitations — that  is,  the 
visual,  tactual,  auricular  grasp  of  numbers  of  things, 
however  highly  cultivated,  must  reach  a  point  be- 
yond which  it  cannot  go.  What  this  point  is  I  am 
not  at  present  able  to  say.  Following,  and  leaving, 
the  point  where  the  sense-grasp  ceases  must  come 
what  may  be  called  the  grasp  of  the  imagination. 
The  latter  depends  totally  upon  the  former  for  its 
definiteness  and  distinctness.  This  fact  is  of  the 
greatest  importance.  The  unseen  can  only  be 
measured  by  the  seen.  For  instance,  experience, 
or,  in  other  words,  actual  sense  products,  are  the 


94  Talks  on  Teaching, 

only  measures  of  that  which  cannot  come  within  the 
direct  and  limiting  acts  of  the  senses.  We  measure 
the  unseen  mile  by  the  yard  or  rod  that  is  definitely 
fixed  in  the  mind  by  close  observation.  We  measure 
a  hundred  things  by  a  standard  that  has  been  fixed 
in  the  mind  in  the  same  way,  by  the  action  of  the 
senses. 
Bctions  to  I  have  often  heard  objections  raised  to  the  object 
txi«  method  of  teaching  number,  because  the  eye  and 
hand  can  take  in  so  few  things  at  a  time.  This  ob- 
jection is  illogical  to  the  last  degree ;  for  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  our  measures  of  values,  that 
can  be  obtained  only  through  the  senses,  be  as  dis- 
tinct to  the  mind  as  the  actual  yard-stick  or  bushel 
to  the  measurer.  You  can  easily  see  how  a  slight 
fault  in  the  standard  would  bring  about  an  immense 
error  in  great  numbers  of  things.  Precisely  in  the 
same  way,  if  the  standards  of  measure  are  not  dis- 
tinct in  the  mind,  the  imagination  of  numbers  of 
things  that  lie  beyond  the  sense-grasp  will  be  weak 
and  wrong.  Thus  you  see  that  the  illogical  argu- 
ment of  the  objectors  to  object-teaching  is,  in  reality, 
the  very  strongest  reason  that  can  be  given  in  favor 
of  such  teaching, 
can  be  What  can  be  done  with  numbers?  I  advise  you 
8  ?  always,  for  such  answers,  to  observe  closely  numbers 
of  things.  Here  are  a  number  of  blocks.  What 
can  I  do  with  them?  In  what  relations  can  you 
see  them?  Take  this  one  number ;  with  your  eyes 
you  can  perceive  the  definite  limitation  as  to  how 
many.  What  can  I  do  with  this  number?  I  can 
separate  it  into  other  numbers  or  parts,  each  of 


Number.  95 

which  you  limit  definitely  in  your  mind  by  the 
means  of  sight.  Can  I  do  more?  Try  it.  Here 
are  several  numbers.  What  can  be  done  with  them? 
I  unite  them  into  one  number.  What  more  can  be 
done  with  a  number?  I  separate  the  number  into 
parts,  or  other  numbers ;  I  unite  numbers  into  one 
whole  number.  I  can  do  this  actually,  or  I  can 
think  it  done.  ]N'umbers  can  be  united ;  a  number 
can  be  separated.  Every  operation  in  arithmetic, 
however  difficult  or  complex,  must  consist  of  one  or 
both  of  these  two  simple  processes — uniting  and 
separating.  There  are  two  relations  of  numbers  in 
these  two  processes  which  are  severally  actual 
counterparts  or  correlatives  of  each  other.  These 
relations  may  be  called,  first,  the  relation  of  unequal 
numbers  to  each  other  ;  second,  the  relation  of 
equal  numbers  to  each  other.  I  can  separate  this 
number  of  blocks  into  numbers  that  are  not  equal 
each  to  the  other ;  I  can  unite  the  unequal  numbers 
into  one  number.  I  can  separate  this  number  into 
equal  numbers  or  parts ;  I  can  unite  the  equal  num- 
bers into  one  number.  Here  we  have  the  so-called  ^Jnt  J^S 
fundamental  four  operations  of  arithmetic.  Uniting  operations, 
numbers  (or  making  a  unit  of  them)  is  addition; 
uniting  equal  numbers,  a  simpler  process  to  the  eye 
and  to  the  imagination  than  the  union  of  unequal 
numbers,  is  multiplication.  The  reverse  of  the  for- 
mer is  subtraction ;  of  the  latter,  division.  A  full 
comprehension  of  these  simple  facts,  and  the  highly 
important  truth  that  every  operation  in  arithmetic 
consists  solely  and  entirely  of  the  application  of 
these    simple    relations,    will    make    the    subject 


g6  Talks  on  Teaching. 

of  arithmetic  a  true  science,  instead  of  a  complex 
art. 

S number?  ^^^^  is  ^^  ^se  of  number?  First,  and  the  most 
important  point  to  be  understood  in  the  teaching  of 
any  subject,  is  its  bearing  upon  mental  develop- 
ment ;  second,  its  utility  as  applied  to  the  affairs  of 
life.  The  teaching  of  arithmetic  may  be  divided 
into  two  parts :  first,  training  the  power  to  calculate 
with  accuracy  and  rapidity ;  second,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  power  to  reason  exactly  and  logically. 
"When  we  train  a  child  to  add,  subtract,  multiply, 
and  divide  with  accuracy  and  rapidity,  the  exact- 
ness and  celerity  necessary  to  good  work  train  the 
•  power  of  attention.  Mathematics  is  the  only  exact 
science ;  if  the  premises  are  correct,  the  conclusions 
must  be.  To  form  a  strong  effectual  habit  of  seeing 
and  thinking  of  things  just  as  they  are,  and  in  their 
exact  relations,  is  the  province  of  mathematics. 
There  are,  then,  two  motives  in  teaching  arithmetic ; 
one, of  which  is  to  train  attention;  the  other,  the 
higher  and  more  important  one,  is  the  development 
of  the  power  to  reason  logically.  All  arithmetical 
reasoning  must  be  done  by  bringing  the  mind  to 
bear  directly  upon  the  relations  of  numbers  of  things. 
Language  is  simply  the  means  of  bringing  the  num- 
bers of  things  and  their  relations  into  the  mind. 


wnmst         How   shall,   or   rather   how   must^  number  be 

ber  be 


"^Jit?  taught?  I  use  this  word  mvst  because,  primarily 
and  fundamentally,  there  is  only  one  way  to  teach 
number— that  is  by  direct  observation  of  numbers 
of  objects.  We  may,  it  is  true,  teach  the  language 
of  number,  leaving  the  association  of  the  language. 


Number.  97 

with  tlie  ideas  they  should  riecall,  to  accident,  and 

fondly  imagine  that  we  are  teaching  number.     As 

well  might  we  try  to  teach  the  facts  in  botany 

without  plants,  in  zoology  without  animals,  form 

without    forms,    and   color  without   colors   as   to 

teach   number   without  numbers  of  objects.     All 

primary  ideas  of  number  and  their  relations  must 

be  obtained  immediately  through  the  senses,  and  by 

their  repeated  limitations  as  numbers  of  things  as 

to  how  many. 

The  first  step  in  teaching  number  is  to  ascertain,    First  find 
.  out  what  the 

by  careful  examination,  just  how  much  the  child  cMidimows. 

knows  of  number — i.  e. ,  just  his  acquired  power  of 
limiting  of  objects  of  the  same  kind  to  how  many ; 
just  how  many  limitations  of  this  kind  he  has  ac- 
quired. His  knowledge  of  number  has  been 
acquired  through  some  necessity  of  limiting  the 
number  of  objects  he  handles  or  sees.  Thus  a 
child  in  the  kindergarten,  who  is  constantly  hand- 
ling objects — splints,  pieces  of  paper,  blocks,  etc. 
— placing  them  in  different  forms,  such  as  triangles, 
squares,  oblongs,  etc.,  is  gaining  unconsciously,  in 
the  best  possible  way,  knowledge  of  number.  The 
child's  real  knowledge  of  number  consists  in  recog- 
nizing numbers  of  things  at  sight.  Ability  to 
count  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  true  knowl- 
edge of  numbers  of  things.  Counting  is  generally 
ordinal ;  his  four  or  five  is  apt  to  be  nothing  but 
the  fourth  or  fifth.  Just  what  he  does  know  is  the 
first  question  to  be  answered  by  the  teacher.  He 
may  know  numbers  without  knowing  their  names 
or  the  words  that  recall  them.     It  would  not  be 


98  Talks  on  Teaching, 

fair,  then,  to  gauge  his  knowledge  of  number  by 
asking  him  to  bring  you  three^  four,  or  more 
things.  Hold  up  three  objects  and  say,  ''Bring 
me  so  many,"  is  the  first  and  easiest  test.  If  this 
test  is  successful,  holu  up  a  number  of  objects  (not 
more  than  four),  and  say,  ''  Bring  me  —  "  (naming 
the  number.)  Third  test,  hold  up  a  number  of 
objects  and  ask,  ''How  many?  "  Fourth,  request 
the  child  to  give  you  so  many,  giving  the  number 
without  showing  the  object, 
teacher  ^oiiid  ^^^^  you  have  ascertained  just  what  the  child 
know.  knows   of  number,  begin  there.     From  repeated 

tests,  given  by  myself,  and  by  teachers  under  my 
supervision,  the  average  child  of  ^yq  or  even  six 
years  of  age  does  not  know  three  when  he  enters 
the  school-room.  The  reason  for  this,  as  I  have 
before  intimated,  is  not  far  to  seek.  It  can  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  he  has  not  been  led  to  limit 
objects  in  the  definite  way  required  by  number. 
The  teacher  should  know  exactly  the  facts  that  the 
child  must  acquire  in  order  to  know  number  com- 
prehensively;  that  is,  just  what  separations  and 
unions  of  numbers  cover  the  whole  ground.  These 
facts  can  be  briefly  stated  thus:  first,  the  equal 
numbers  in  a  number,  the  equal  numbers  that  make 
a  number ;  second,  the  equal  parts  of  a  number ; 
and,  third,  any  two  unequal  numbers  in  a  number, 
and  any  two  unequal  numbers  that  make  a  number. 
Tliis  applies  to  nmnbers  from  one  to  twenty  inclu- 
sive. These  facts  should  be  recognized  by  the 
child,  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  on  the  pres- 
Qntation  of  objects,  and  should  be  recalled  in  the 


Number,  99 

same  manner  on  hearing  or  seeing  the  language 
that  represents  them.  I  wish  to  emphasize  this  ^j^^J^j^^^J^^. 
point,  that  the  facts  should  be  known  without  the  n^^tic. 
slightest  hesitation.  That  which  is  learned  should 
be  sunk  into  automatic  action.  That  teaching 
which  leaves  the  child  a  prey  to  helpless  counting 
of  fingers  when  he  wishes  to  reach  a  fact  is  very 
poor  indeed.  The  struggle  of  education  is  essen- 
tially for  freedom — i.e.^  the  mind  should  be  freed 
by  proper  repetitions  and  drill,  so  that  petty  details 
may  be  left  behind,  in  order  that  power  may  be 
concentrated  upon  the  higher  step.  For  instance, 
in  solving  a  problem  the  whole  power  of  the  mind 
should  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  exact  relations 
of  the  numbers  of  things,  free  entirely  from  calcu- 
lation ;  because  the  calculation  needed  has  been  so 
thoroughly  mastered  that  it  becomes  secondary  and 
entirely  subordinate,  requiring  simply  automatic 
action.  Therefore  you  will  see  of  what  exceeding 
importance  it  is  that  the  facts,  step  by  step,  should 
be  thoroughly  acquired  once  and  forever. 


TALK  XVI. 


NUMBER,    CONTINTTED. 


tem'^t^^th  **'  ^^^  almost  hopeless  confusion  in  their  knowledge 
first  year.  of  arithmetic  that  we  find  in  older  pupils  is  owing 
in  greater  part  to  the  attempt  to  teach  too  much 
during  the  first  year.  I  have  seen,  many  times, 
fifty,  or  even  one  hundred,  laid  down  in  the  course 
of  study  to  be  taught.  I  have  tried  during  the 
last  eleven  years  to  teach  number  to  little  folks ; 
and  I  have  never  yet  succeeded  in  teaching,  nor 
have  I  ever  seen  ten,  really  taught  during  the  first 
year.  I  am  well  aware  that  many  good  teachers 
argue  that  by  constant  repetition  of  the  language, 
without  regard  to  what  the  language  expresses, 
fifty,  or  even  one  hundred,  may  be  taught — i.e.,  the 
child  by  unceasing  drill  may  repeat  a  great  quantity 
of  gibberish,  that  to  the  casual  obsei-ver  may  seem 
to  be  a  valuable  result.  Ask  these  children  to 
verify  one  of  their  voluble  sentences  by  showing 
the  real  relations  of  numbers  of  things  that  the 
sentence  was  made  to  represent,  and  you  see,  at 
once,  that  they  have  spent  much  valuable  time  in 
learning  an  unknown  language.  The  same  teachers 
argue  that  the  child  cannot  reason,  and  therefore 
he  must  be  tauglit  the  language  before  the  things. 
All  this  unreason  arises  from  the  attempt  that  tra- 

lOO 


Number.  lo? 

dition  forces  upon  us  to  teach  far  more  than  the 
child  can  learn.  There  is  no  time  in  the  child's 
life  when  he  cannot  see,  judge,  generalize,  and 
imagine,  providing  the  work  is  adapted  to  his  men- 
tal capacity.  It  is  this  lack  of  adaptation  which 
leads  to  this  erratic  theory  and  ruinous  practice. 
Give  the  child  time  to  grow,  and  wait  patiently 
until  the  germs  of  power  burst  out  of  their  fruitful 
soil  of  unconsciousness. 

Teach  each  number  as  a  whole,  as  you  teach  Let  child 
everything  within  the  sense-grasp.  When  the  idea  for  Mmseif . 
of  a  number  is  in  the  mind  as  a  whole,  the  tendency 
of  the  mental  power  awakened  by  the  whole  is  to 
go  to  the  parts.  We  can  only  analyze  that  which 
is  in  the  mind.  Forced  analysis,  before  the  object 
is  clear  in  the  mind,  generates  weakness.  Let  the 
child  discover  everything  he  can  in  a  number,  and 
discover  it  for  himself  and  by  himself.  If,  for 
instance,  he  is  learning  4,  he  has  already  learned 
1,2,  and  3 ;  and  by  skilful  leading  he  can  discover 
the  I's,  the  2's,  the  3  and  1,  and  1  and  3,  he  finds 
in  4. 

There  are  teachers  who  argue  that  an  attempt  to    Teach  the 
teach  the  four  operations  at  the  same  time  confuses  tions*at  one 
the  child.     It  would,  no  doubt,  if   the  language 
alone  were  learned,  without  regard  to  the  thought 
which  that  language  expresses.     But  let  us  see.     I 
hold  up  four  blocks,  separated  into  2's. 

''What  do  you  see?     You  say,  "Two  and  two    Reasons  for 
are  four,  "or  in  other  language,  ' '  Two  twos  are  ^   "' 
four, "  "  There  are  two  twos  in  four, "  "  Four  less 
two  is  two."    Which  fact  do  you  see  first?   I  have 


I02  Talks  on  Tecching. 

never  had  a  class  who  agreed  upon  this.  I  hardly 
know  myself.  It  is  logical  to  suppose  that  we  must 
see  the  separation  before  we  can  see  the  combina- 
tion. No ;  we  must  see  the  whole  before  the  part. 
It  is  the  old  question  of  trying  to  separate  synthe- 
Anaiysisandsis  from  analysis.     I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it 

synthesis.         .     .  .    ,     / 

is  impossible  for  us  to  synthesize  without  analyzing, 
or  vice  versa.  The  synthesis  of  units  should  sink, 
as  quickly  as  possible,  into  unconscious  acts,  and 
not  be  kept  alive  by  counting.  But  I  think  the 
proof  is  positive  that  if  we  see  two  twos  in  four 
we  also  see,  at  the  same  time,  that  two  twos  are 
four.  That  three  and  two  are  ^yq  we  see  at  the 
same  time  that  we  do  that  five  less  two  is  three,  and 
five  less  three  is  two.  Now,  instead  of  confusing 
the  mind,  correlative  relations  mutually  assist  each 
other  in  comprehending  each  relation.  To  spend  a 
long  time  in  adding  numbers,  without  noticing  con- 
sciously the  separations,  follow  that  by  a  long  term 
of  subtracting,  after  which  teach  multiplying  and 
dividing;  produces,  I  think,  the  inextricable  con- 
fusion regarding  number  that  I  have  never  failed  to 
find  in  grammar -grade  classes.  The  same  theory 
carried  out  in  botany  would  take  one  part  of  the 
plant — the  leaves,  for  instance — and  teach  that, 
without  regard  to  the  whole  plant ;  and  then,  re- 
turning, teach  the  bark,  then  the  stem,  and  so  on. 
This  manner  of  teaching  belongs,  not  to  a  primary, 
but  to  a  secondary,  stage  of  work. 
A  misunder-  One  important  point  I  wish  to  make  very  clear 
Arithmetic?  to  you,  because  in  most  Enghsh  arithmetics  tlie 
point  has  been  sadly  misunderstood.     I  liave  said 


Number.  103 

that  the  facts  to  be  learned  are  the  equal  numbers 
in  a  number,  and  the  equal  parts  of  a  number.  I 
hold  up  four  blocks ;  jou  readily  see  that  there  are 
two  twos  in  four ;  that  one  half  of  four  is  two. 
Compare  the  two  twos  (2  2's=4)  in  four  with  one 
half  of  four  is  two  ones  (2  l's=2).  JN'ow  in  most 
of  the  arithmetics  published  in  this  country  and 
Great  Britain  both  of  these  radically  different  rela- 
tions are  represented  by  one  written  sentence,  viz. , 
4-=- 2.  Arithmetic  is  an  exact  science,  and  it  is 
absolutely  indispensable  that  it  have  an  exact  lan- 
guage. I  cannot  conceive  why  these  two  relations 
have  been  almost  totally  unrecognized  by  book- 
makers. The  only  way  I  can  account  for  it  is 
that  the  language  of  arithmetic  seems  to  have  arisen 
from  the  relations  of  the  signs,  and  not  the  numbers 
of  things.  Finding  the  equal  parts  of  a  whole 
number,  which  I  would  like  to  call  pa/rtition^  in 
contradistinction  to  the  equal  parts  of  a  unit  (frac- 
tions), is  not,  perhaps,  one  of  the  simplest  processes. 
But  it  may  successfully  begin  when  the  child  is 
learning  four,  and  the  two  operations  of  measuring 
by  equal  numbers  (division)  and  j&nding  the  equal 
])arts  of  a  number  should  be  kept  entirely  distinct 
from  each  other  in  the  child's  mind,  as  they  really 
are,  or  will  be,  unless  his  mind  is  confused  by  an 
ambiguous  sentence.  Discriminate  very  sharply 
between  learning  number  and  learning  the  language 
of  number.  The  former  must  precede  the  latter. 
If  I  am  any  judge  of  results,  nine  tenths  of  the 
teaching  of  arithmetic  consists  in  teaching  figures 
alone,  with  little  or  no  regard  to  numbers.     This 


104  Talks  on  Teaching. 

you  may  easily  test  by  asking  pupils  to  verify  with 
objects  a  few  sentences  like  these : 
4  of  i,  f  -^  i  etc. 
la^M&f  of^^  ^^^^  language  of  arithmetic  is  made  up  of  idioms 
nunii)er.  ^j^^t  have  little  or  no  analogy  with  the  rest  of  the 
language.  For  instance,  the  word  from  in  sub- 
traction is  used  in  arithmetic  only  in  the  sense  of 
out  of.  Times  in  multiplication  is  a  misleading 
word.  Bear  in  mind,  then,  that  in  the  first  steps 
of  teaching  nmnber  the  ideas  of  number  and  their 
relations  are  the  things  to  be  taught.  Allow  the 
child  to  use  his  own  idioms  to  express  what  he  sees, 
until  the  ideas  become  fixed  in  the  mind.  Then 
gradually  introduce,  by  using  them  yourself  (do  not 
require  the  pupils  to  use  them  at  first),  the  conven- 
tional idioms  peculiar  to  arithmetic.  Thus  these 
forms  of  speech  become  gradually  associated  with 
the  thought.  There  is  no  danger  of  using  the  new 
terms  when  they  recall  exactly  what  they  mean. 

There  is  another  important  point  in  the  language 
of  arithmetic.  When  the  child  enters  school,  he  has 
clear  ideas  of  the  spoken  words,  such  as  "hat," 
**mat,"  ''cat,"  *'box,"  etc.,  with  which  written 
words  are  to  be  associated.  He  has  been  gathering 
these  ideas  through  five  or  six  years  of  constant 
mental  exercise,  but,  as  I  have  shown,  he  has  very 
few,  if  any,  clear  ideas  of  number.  Ideas  groio 
very  slowly.  It  takes  a  long  time,  with  many  acts 
of  perception,  to  fix  one  idea  clearly  in  the  mind. 
It  is  of  immense  importance  that  these  ideas  come 
into  the  mind  so  distinctly  that  they  can  be  used  in 
thinking.    The  oi*al  language  must  be  used  to  assist 


Number,  i6J 

in  gaining  the  ideas,  and  to  express  them.  Bnt  if 
we  endeavor  to  teach  both  forms  of  language,  tlie 
written  and  the  oral,  at  the  same  time  the  all- 
important  work  of  idea-growth  is  going  on,  do  we 
not  try  to  do  too  much?  Will  not  the  written 
figures  be  taken,  as  they  constantly  are,  for  that 
which  they  should  represent?  I  would  defer  the 
teaching  of  written  figures,  for  this  and  other  rea- 
sons, until  at  least  ten  is  tlioroughly  taught.  Then 
figures  may  be  taught,  as  words  and  sentences  in 
reading  are,  by  associating  them  directly  with  that 
which  they  represent. 

I  will  now  try  to  ffive  some  indications  of  the   Details  of  the 
•^  ^  step-by-step 

step-by-step  plan  by  which  numbers  may  be  taught,  plan. 
First,  teach  the  number  as  a  whole;  use  a  great 
variety  of  objects  appealing  to  sight,  touch,  and 
hearing;  second,  lead  the  child  to  discover  every 
fact  for  himself,  giving  each  one  a  number  of  ob- 
jects; third,  after  the  facts  have  been  repeatedly 
discovered  by  the  child  fix  them  in  the  mind  by 
constant  drill.  Let  the  child  take  the  number  of 
objects,  and  show  you  rapidly  what  he  can  see  in 
it.  Show  the  objects  yourself,  and  have  the  pupils 
tell  what  they  see.  Then,  without  objects,  question 
pupils  sharply  upon  the  facts,  and  have  them  answer 
without   hesitation.  Kext   apply   the   numbers 

learned,  in  all  sorts  of  practical  ways,  by  means  of 
little  problems.  Have  pupils  make  problems  for 
themselves.  In  the  teaching  of  number  use  all  the 
common  weights,  measures,  money,  that  come 
within  the  scope  of  the  number  taught.  Teach  one 
number  at  a  time,  and  have  the  pupils  learn  the 


io6  Talks  on  Teaching. 

facts  in  tliat  number  before  another  is  taught. 
Review  continually.  Judge  of  your  progress  by 
the  increasing  power  of  attention  on  the  part  of 
your  pupils. 
th7?s?o?SS**  When  should  we  stop  using  objects?  I  have  but 
jecis  cease  ?  ^^^  answer  to  this  question.  Cease  using  any  object 
when  it  can  be  thought  of  and  used  without  the 
presence  of  the  object.  This  is  a  general  rule,  and 
appHes  to  all  object-teaching.  When  children  can 
think  of  the  things  or  qualities  required  for  the 
desired  mental  action  without  the  presence  of  ob- 
jects, their  after-use  cultivates  weakness  rather  than 
strength.  That  is,  when  the  mind  has  abstracted 
the  required  ideas  of  number  and  their  relations 
from  numbers  of  objects,  then  the  real  abstract 
number  may  be  used.  The  abstract  number  that 
cannot  be  defined  or  thought  of  is  a  snare  and  a 
delusion,  and  has  caused  more  vague,  meaningless, 
stupid  work  in  arithmetic  than  tlie  teaching  of  the 
names  of  the  letters  has  in  reading.  We  say,  for 
example,  that  the  multiplier  is  abstract :  2  times  3 
means  two  threes.  Two  is  a  limiting  adjective,  and 
limits  threes.  It  has  a  definite  meaning,  and  to 
say  that  it  is  al)stract,  in  the  sense  given  by  most 
arithmetics  to  that  miserable  word,  is  nonsense, 
teaifiiers^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^  ®^^ '  ^^  conclusion  to  this  talk,  that  if  you 

have  been,  like  myself,  trained  in  figure-work, 
instead  of  the  study  of  number,  I  should  advise  you 
to  lay  aside,  for  a  time,  all  you  ever  thought  you 
knew  about  arithmetic,  and  begin  its  careful, 
thoughtful  study  over  again  (using  numbers  of  ob- 
jects all  the  time),  with  a  little  child  to  lead  you. 


TALK  XVII. 


AEITHMETIC. 


When  ten  has  been  tlioronglily  taught,  begin  the  when  and 
teaching  of  the  written  language  of  number.  The  teaching: 
process  of  teaching  figures  is  precisely  the  same  assigns, 
in  teaching  written  words.  First,  show  a  number 
of  objects,  and  then  write  (on  the  blackboard)  the 
sign.  Second,  write  the  fign,  and  ask  pupils  to  show 
that  number  of  objects.  Third,  show  a  number  of 
objects,  and  have  pupils  write  the  sign.  Fourth, 
send  the  class  to  the  board,  then  show  numbers  of 
objects  one  after  the  other,  and  have  pupils  write 
the  sign.  Fifth,  show  111,  11,  thus;  then  change 
to  11111,  and  say,  ''Write  that."  They  write, 
"■  3  and  2  are  5."  Sixth,  teacher  erases  and,  and 
writes  -j-,  are  and  writes  — .  ''ISTow  read  it  the 
same  way  as  before."  Teach  the  signs,  =,-[-? 
— ,  X  ,  -^  5  very  carefully,  one  at  a  time,  and  then 
review  by  writing  them  together.  Show  objects 
(as  in  oral  teaching),  and  have  pupils  write  the 
answers.     Introduce  exercises  like  the  following : 


1 

2 

3 

3 

8-^2  =4 

8--2  = 

8-^  =4 

-^2  =4 

4  2"'=8 

4  2'"= 

4  ''=8 

2'«=8 

5+4  =9 

5+4  = 

5+  =9 

+4  =9 

8-5  =3 

8-5  = 

8-  =3 

-5  =d 

4X2  =8 

4X2  = 

4X   =8 

X2  =8 

107 


io8  Talks  on  Teaching, 

Then  have  pupils  erase  tlie  answers  (see  2)  and 
write  the  answers  rapidly.  Have  them  erase  an- 
swers again  and  read  the  columns.  Have  them  erase 
second  line  (see  3),  then  fill  up  the  columns.  Have 
them  erase  again  and  read.  Tlien  let  them  erase 
the  first  line  (see  4)  and  fill  in  the  Answers.  Use 
in  these  exercises  all  the  forms  of  stating  processes 
to  be  found  in  arithmetical  calculation,  the  pu- 
pils learning  them  by  seeing  the  relations  which 
they  express.  In  division,  for  example,  8-7-4=2, 
4)8(2,  4\8;  in  multiplication,  2x3  =  6,  3.     When 

h  2 

6 
these  forms  are  firmly  fixed  in  the  mind,  give  the 
i>«taU8^of  same  exercises  without  using  objects.  From  10 
steps  to  20.  proceed,  number  by  number,  to  the  development 
of  20,  using  both  oral  and  written  work.  For  re- 
views give  an  exercise  like  this  (orally),  having 
pupils  write  out  answers  upon  slates  or  board,  in 
columns,  without  hesitation :  7-|-5;  5-[-3;  4's  in 
12;  10—7;  i  of  9;  6x2.  Let  pupils  change 
slates  and  correct,  the  teacher  reading  the  answers. 
Train  pupils  to  make  good  figures,  and  to  arrange 
their  work  neatly  upon  slates,  blackboard,  or  paper. 
Never  allow  any  careless  worJc. 

These  exercises,  however,  form  only  a  part  of  the 
work  which  should  be  done.  The  oral  and  written 
work  should  go  hand  in  hand.  Calculation  should 
be  followed  by  applied  numbers,  using,  as  in  oral 
work,  weights,  measures,  and  money.  Have  pupils 
buy  and  sell,  and  keep  an  account  of  their  trades 
on  slate  and  paper.     Give  them  a  great  many  little 


Arithmetic.  109 

problems  tliat  will  test  their  thinking  powers. 
Have  them  write  their  own  problems  (language 
lessons).  Write  on  the  board  T+4-;  3X5;  J  of 
12;  16-i-4;  and  have  them  write  problems  on 
their  slates,  using  these  numbers  and  their  relations. 
Write  examples  for  them  on  the  board.  Have 
them  read  them  (reading  lessons).  A  Primary 
Arithmetic  may  be  introduced  (like  the  ''Frank- 
lin") as  a  reading-book  at  this  stage.  The  squares 
of  2,  3,  4,  and  5  may  be  taught  by  drawing  the 
squares  on  the  board.  Have  children  make  the 
tables — multiplication  and  division,  products  not 
exceeding  tlie  number  taught.  I  believe  when  20 
is  thoroughly  taught,  and  all  the  facts  are  known 
without  the  slightest  hesitation,  and  when  the  child 
has  formed  the  habit  of  using  figures,  simply  to 
represent  numbers  of  tilings,  in  such  a  way  that  the 
figures,  in  any  and  all  of  their  relations,  will  readily 
recall  the  numbers  in  their  relations,  that  more 
than  half  of  the  science  of  arithmetic  is  within  the 
grasp  of  the  pupils.  This  work  should  occupy  the 
time  at  least  of  the  first  two  years.  It  may  be 
done,  I  think,  in  one  year  if  the  pupils  have  had 
thorough  kindergarten  training. 

I  have  not  time  to  speak  of  the  steps  from  20  to    Parker's 

100.     For  this  work  I  will  refer  you  to  the  Arith- Chart;  20  to 

.  100. 

metical  Charts,  soon  to  be  published  by  Cowper- 

thwait  &  Co.     Three  years  at  least   should  be  al- 
lowed for  the  thorough  teaching  of  100. 

I  am  often  asked  the  question,    ' '  When  should    when  can 
the  use  of  obiects  cease   in   the   development  of  i>e  taught 

,         .       .  ,  .  T       .^ , ,      -,-    without  oh- 

number,  that  is,  m  teaching  a  new  number?'      It iects? 


no  Talks  on  Teaching, 

is  clear  to  my  mind  that  when  pupils  can  analyze 
a  number  {i.e.^  find  the  equal  numbers  in  a  num- 
ber, the  equal  parts  of  a  number,  any  two  unequal 
numbers  into  which  a  number  can  be  separated,  or 
that  make  a  number)  without  the  presence  of  the 
objects  the  time  has  come  when  they  should  not 
be  used.  Whether  this  be  at  10  or  20  I  know 
not.  I  shall  have  to  teach  number  to  little  cliil- 
dren  a  few  years  longer  before  I  shall  be  able  to 
find  this  important  fact.  This  rule,  however,  ap- 
plies to  all  teaching :  Set  the  child  free  as  soon  as 
possible;  train  him  to  help  himself,  to  use  that 
which  is  in  his  mind  with  the  slightest  external 
stimulus ;  but,  above  all  things,  be  sure  tha  the  has 
the  right  mental  objects  to  use.  These  must  come 
in  through  the  senses. 

Nothing  new      I  have  tried  to  give  you   an  outline   of  how 
Inhlelier  to  J 

Aritfimetic.     children  may  be  thoroughly  grounded  in  primary 

arithmetic.  If  you  fully  comprehend  and  carry 
out  this  plan,  very  little  need  be  said  about  higher 
or  Written  Arithmetic,  as  it  is  usually  called.  For 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  new  to  be  learned  in  all 
arithmetical  teaching,  except  the  processes  which 
large  numbers  involve,  such  as  is  found  in  the  addi- 
tions, multiplications,  subtractions,  and  divisions, 
which  cannot  be  performed  without  the  use  of  slate 
and  pencil.  All  these  processes  should  be  discov- 
ered by  pupils, 
ifeediesi  The  tendency  of  modern  teaching  has  been  to 

this  study,  make  very  simple  things  complex  and  difiicult. 
The  application  of  the  science  of  teaching  will 
bring  us  back  to  the  grand  simplicity  characteristic 


Arithmetic,  iii 

of  true  art.  The  complexity  of  which  I  speak 
can  arise  in  no  other  way  than  from  a  superficial 
understanding  of  arithmetic.  That  is,  it  consists  in 
taking  the  language  for  the  thing,  and  making 
rules,  and  definitions,  and  terms  which  appear  en- 
tirely new  to  both  teacher  and  pupil,  when  they 
are  simply  a  well-known  operation  under  a  new 
name.  I  have  shown  that  all  that  can  be  done  with 
number  consists  totally  of  separating  and  uniting 
numbers.  Hence  every  subject  in  arithmetic, 
whether  it  be  fractions,  decimals,  percentage,  in- 
terest, or  cube  root — whether  the  numbers  be  large 
or  small,  is  only  a  simple  continuance  of  what  the 
child  has  already  learned ;  a  new  application  of  the 
same  thing.  Let  the  teacher  follow  the  great  peda- 
gogical rule  of  Pestalozzi.  Teach  the  idea  before 
the  word,  the  thought  before  the  expression,  and 
all  will  go  well.     When  a  new  subiect  is  beffun,    Teach  every 

o  J  o       'new  subject 

fractions,  for  example,  let  the  pupils  discover  what  objectively, 
fractions  are  by  means  of  objects ;  show  them  the 
fractions;  have  them  write  the  signs  upon  the 
blackboard.  Follow  the  usual  course  in  teaching 
fractions,  and  you  will  readily  see  that  pupils  can 
be  led  to  discover  for  themselves  a  mixed  number 
by  showing  them  by  objects  a  whole  number  and  a 
fraction;  an  improper  fraction  by  separating  a 
whole  number  into  equal  parts;  that  the  parts 
must  be  equal  in  order  to  add  or  subtract,  and 
when  they  are  equal  they  are  added  and  subtracted 
precisely  like  whole  numbers ;  and  so  on,  step  by 
step,  they  may  be  led  to  see  the  relation  of  the  dif- 
ferent equal  parts  of  units.     That  is,  the  thoughts 


112 


Talks  on  Teaching, 


mility. 


Teachers 
need  to  study 
numbers  of 
tMngs. 


can  be  evolved  by  means  of  objects  before  the 
How  to  bring  sentence  is  written.  If  you  happen  to  have  a  class 
that  have  been  through  the  hooh^  and  know  all 
about  fractions,  write  a  simple  fraction  upon  the 
board,  and  ask  them  to  verify  it  with  objects — 
i.e.^  ask  them  to  show  you  just  what  .the  word  or 
sentence  means.  In  all  my  experience  I  have 
never  failed  to  bring  about  a  commendable  degree 
of  humility,  which  is  very  useful  when  turning  the 
minds  of  the  pupils  afresh  upon  an  old  and  almost 
worn-out  subject  that  students  are  apt  to  imagine 
they  have  thoroughly  mastered. 

I  cannot  urge  you  too  strongly,  as  teachers,  to  go 
back  to  the  study  of  the  real  meaning  of  all  you 
think  you  know  about  arithmetic.  My  advice 
comes  from  my  own  experience  in  trying  to  teach 
this  subject.  Finding  that  I  knew  figures  well, 
and  not  numbers  of  things,  I  have  been  obliged  to 
go  back  to  the  objects  in  order  to  find  just  what 
the  figures  in  their  relations  mean.  My  second 
reason  for  this  advice  is  that  I  find  pupils  in  ad- 
vanced grades  unable  to  reason  in  arithmetic. 
Reasoning,  let  me  repeat,  must  he  upon  things,  and 
not  words. 

The  question  has  been  often  asked  me,  ' '  How 
much  analysis  would  you  have?"  By  analysis 
many  teachers  mean  the  repetition  of  a  set  formula 
that  has  been  learned  **  by  heart."  That  is,  a  child 
learns  a  pattern  by  which  all  examples  of  the  same 
kind  may  be  done  with  the  slightest  possible  mentaJ 
action  on  the  part  of  the  learner.  This  is  not  anal- 
ysis, though  it  is  often  called  by  that  name.     It  is 


How  mncli 
analysis  ? 


Arithmetic,  113 

pattern-learning,  and  is  simply  imitation  carried  over 
into  the  sacred  region  of  thought  development; 
and  it  effectually  prevents  the  growing  of  any  origi- 
nal or  creative  power.  Analysis  is  the  discovery 
by  the  thinking  powers  of  the  parts  of  a  whole, 
which  must  be,  of  course,  clearly  in  the  mind  be- 
fore its  parts  can  be  mentally  seen.  Another  diffi- 
culty in  this  so-called  elaborate  analysis  is  that  it  con- 
sumes much  valuable  time.  For  instance :  Teacher, 
— ' '  If  one  apple  costs  three  cents,  what  will  four 
apples  cost?  "  Child. — "  If  one  apple  costs  three 
cents,  four  apples  will  cost  four  times  as  many  cents 
as  one  apple  will  cost.  Therefore  four  apples 
will  cost  four  times  three  cents.  Four  times  three 
cents  are  twelve  cents.  Therefore,  if  one  apple 
costs  three  cents,  four  apples  will  cost  twelve 
cents. ' '  I  think  I  have  not  put  in  all  the  words 
that  can  be  put  into  this  complex  and  useless  ex- 
planation ;  still  I  have  tried  to  illustrate  what  I 
have  very  often  heard.  The  example  given  is  the 
application  of  a  general  fact  which  the  child  is 
learning.  If  the  previous  work  has  been  correct, 
all  the  child  needs  to  say  is,  ''  Twelve  cents,"  and 
go  on  performing  a  dozen  examples,  instead  of 
agonizing  over  the  stiff  formula  of  one.  Let  me 
not  be  misunderstood.  The  pupils'  attention 
should  continually  be  turned  back  upon  that  which 
has  come  into  their  minds  as  wholes.  "We  learn 
the  science  of  arithmetic  not  for  the  purpose  of 
knowing  arithmetic,  but  that  the  study  of  the  sub- 
ject may  increase  mental  power.  The  trouble  is 
that  we  ^^  our  minds  on  the  quantity  to  be  learned, 


114  Talks  on  Teaching, 

and  not  on  the  value  the  things  learned  has  in 
mental  growth, 
shouid^be  led  -^^^  there  is  not  one  thing  in  the  science  of 
tSoulhtrfor  numbers,  no  definition,  rule,  or  process,  that  can- 
tiieiiiseives.  j^^^  ^^  discovered  by  the  child  under  the  proper 
leading  of  a  skilful  teacher  who  knows  what  she  is 
teaching.  The  pupils  can  discover  in  this  way 
every  thought ;  the  language,  of  course,  must  be 
given  them.  Definitions,  rules,  processes,  and 
problems  may  be  an  excellent  means  of  mental 
growth  if  each  and  all  are  discovered  by  the  pupils 
for  themselves  and  by  themselves.  They  are  gen- 
erally, as  learned  and  applied  in  the  pattern  fash- 
ion, a  great  means  of  concealing  thought  and  in- 
creasing stupidity.  The  arithmetic  of  the  future 
will  contain  not  one  rule,  definition,  or  explana- 
tion of  a  process.  ' '  Education  is  the  generation  of 
power, "  ' '  ]S"ever  do  anything  for  a  pupil  that  he 
can  be  led  to  do  for  himself. ' '  How  often  these 
old  truths  have  been  repeated,  and  still  one  of  the 
great  evils,  if  not  the  greatest,  is,  that  we  do  too 
much  for  the  pupils.  Instead  of  leaving  them  to 
help  and  control  themselves,  instead  of  cultivating 
their  powers  of  attention  and  concentration,  we  try 
to  make  them  the  passive,  innocent  recipients  of 
stores  of  knowledge,  without  the  movement,  on 
their  part,  of  a  mental  muscle.  Explanation  is  one 
of  the  very  best  means  of  preventing  mental  action. 
No  expiana-  Train  a  boy  to  be  an  athlete ;  lift  him  over  every 
bar,  carry  him  up  the  ladders,  defend  him  with 
your  fists,  and  then  send  him  out  into  the  world  to 
fight  his  own  battles !     This  is  exactly  what  we  do 


Arithmetic.  115 

when  we  make  everything  plain  by  Qxplain2ii\on, 
I  have  heard  the  objection  made  by  teachers,  when 
I  have  broached  this  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  !N"ew 
Education,  that  it  takes  too  much  time  to  lead  a 
child  to  discover  everything  for  himself.  Educa- 
tion is  the  generation  of  power;  and  the  generation 
of  power,  in  the  right  way,  is  the  very  highest 
economy  of  which  man  can  conceive.     We  learn  to ,  we  learn  to 

•^  ,  .  ,  do  by  doing. 

do  by  doing,  to  hear  by  hearing,  and  to  think  by 
thinking.  We  see  with  all  we  have  seen,  we  do 
with  all  we  have  done,  and  we  think  with  all  we 
have  thought.  The  greatest  delight  of  all  teaching 
is  to  place  the  difficulty  squarely  before  the  pupils 
(generally  by  means  of  objects),  and  then  let  them 
work  it  out  for  themselves.  If  they  go  wrong,  do 
not  tell  them  they  are  wrong,  but  ask  the  question 
that  will  set  them  right.  Time  is  nothing  when 
power  is  growing !  Look  on  this  picture,  and  then 
on  that.  A  class  listening  to  the  verbose  explana- 
tion of  an  enthusiastic  pourer  out  of  knowledge, 
watch  their  faces  as  they  are  repeating  a  rote- 
learned  definition,  rule,  or  formula,  or  are  wait- 
ing for  their  mothers — I  beg  your  pardon,  their 
teachers — to  put  the  food  into  their  open  mouths. 
Or,  if  you  please,  behold  this  class  led  by  a 
teacher  inspired  by  the  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  who  has  the  thought  distinctly  in  her  own 
mind,  who  is  trying  dexterously  to  lead  her  class  to 
know  what  she  knows,  and  is  very  glad  to  have 
them  discover  something  that  she  doesn't  know. 
One  class  solemnly  marches  to  their  goal  of  quan- 
tity under  the  banner  of  rewards  and  punishments, 


ii6  Talks  on  Teaching, 

per  cents,  merits,  checks,  or  the  rod.  The  other, 
all  aglow  with  eagerness  and  zeal,  faces  flushed  in 
their  earnest  desire  to  discover  the  truth,  fearful 
that  some  one  will  tell  them  what  thej  wish  to 
find  out  for  themselves — such  children  are  gather- 
ing strength  at  every  step,  and  learning  to  do  the 
work  the  world  is  most  in  need  of. 

My  dear  teachers,  fill  yourselves  full  of  the  sub- 
ject you  would  teach,  know  its  nature,  its  length, 
breadth,  and  depth,  and  then,  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  learning  child,  lead  him  to  discover,  step  by 
step,  what  you  have  discovered.  I  promise  you 
that  in  such  work  you  will  find  for  yourselves  a 
mental  growth  on  your  own  part  that  can  scarcely 
be  found  anywhere  else,  and  an  unequalled  joy  in 
leading  little  ones  to  fulfil  the  grand  destiny  for 
which  God  intended  them. 


TALK  XVI 1 1. 


GEOGEAPHY. 


A  DESCRIPTION  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  its   Geography 
inhabitants  is,  perhaps,  as  comprehensive  a  defini- 
tion of  geography  as  can  be  found.     A  description 
of  the  surface  of  the  earth  consists  of  a  knowledge 
of  the  structure  of  the  outside  of  this  ball  on  which 
we  live;  this  sti*ucture  consisting  of  slopes,  rela- 
tively gradual  and  abrupt,  that  vary  its  outline; 
the  surface  being  not  that  of  a  perfectly  smooth 
sphere.     This  description  of  the  surface  is  limited, 
in  geography,  to  the  constructed  merely,  and  not 
the  construction.     The  construction  applying  to  the    Two  parts  of 
material  is  the  realm  of    eceoloffv.     "We   have   in  turai  Geogra- 
geography  two   parts,      ihe  iirst   pertains   to  thetory. 
superficial  structure,  the  second  to  the  people  who 
live  and  have  lived  upon  the  structure.     We  have, 
then,  the  stage  and  the  actors.     The  first  is  real 
or  structural  geography,  the  second  history.     For 
history  has  to  do  with  all  that  men  have  done  in 
the  past,  and  all  they  are  doinff  at  present.  First  work; 

rT^l       n     .  i    .  -,.,.-,-..  i      forming  men- 

ine  first  work  m  geoficraphy  is  to  build  into  the  tai  pictures  of 

„     ,       .  structure. 

mmd,  by  means  of  the  imagination,  the  stage,  that 
may  afterward  be  filled  with  moving  and  acting 
human  beings.  We  can  teach  geography  by  means 
of  maps  so  that  the  mind  will  rarely  go  beyond  the 

"7 


ii8  Talks  on  Teaching, 

map,  i.e.^  the  world  and  all  it  contains  is  limited 
to  the  colored  surface  of  a  piece  of  paper.  Now 
the  map,  like  a  word,  should  be  the  means  of  re- 
calling a  reahty.  That  teaching  of  geography 
which  does  not  take  the  student  beyond  the  repre- 
sentation of  that  which  is  represented  is  manifestly 
wrong.  The  description,  as  I  have  said,  of  the 
surface  of  the  earth  must  be  of  mental  pictures  of 
the  forms  raised  above  a  perfectly  level  surface. 
If  the  surface  of  the  continent  were  like  that  of 
the  ocean  (of  water),  a  particular  description  of 
surface  would  be  impossible.  Yarying  outlines, 
then,  make  it  possible  for  us  to  describe  the  surface 
of  the  earth.  A  description  of  the  various  and 
varying  forms  that  rise  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean  is,  per  se^  b.  description  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face. This  description  has  been  almost  entirely 
overlooked  in  the  study  of  geography. 
Thecharac-  The  structure  of  the  earth's  surface  should  be 
nentai  forms    studied  iust  as    any   other   structure   or   form   is 

locates  and  •*  "^  i  m  i 

fixes  them  in  studied.      Were  1  to  ask  you  to  describe  a  house 

the  mind.  "^ 

that  you  have  seen,  you  would  immediately  con- 
centrate your  mind  upon  a  mental  picture  of  that 
house.  You  would  tell  me  of  its  height,  its  roof, 
its  general  form,  of  its  doors  and  windows,  and  so 
on.  Just  in  this  way  a  continental  structure  may, 
and  should,  be  described.  These  varying  forms 
of  vertical  stmcture  in  their  relations  give  the 
character  to  a  continent  or  any  of  its  parts.  Let 
us  look  at  this  a  moment  in  relation  to  memory. 
All  that  we  remember  must  be  located  in  space, 
real  or  imaginary.     The  more  distinct  the  locality 


Geography,  119 

is  in  the  mind  the  more  tenaciously  and  clearly 
the  mind  holds  any  fact  in  relation  to  the  locality. 
The  more  character  there  is,  the  more  pronounced 
and  varying  the  slopes  into  hills,  valleys,  coast- 
lines, and  rivers,  the  easier  it  is  to  fill  such  locali- 
ties with  facts  and  retain  them.  Our  knowledge 
of  locality  upon  smooth  surfaces,  like  the  ocean, 
is  very  vague,  hanging  as  it  does  upon  imaginary 
lines  drawn  from  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  I  can 
make  my  meaning  plain  by  referring  to  the  method 
of  the  modern  historian  or  novelist.  The  first 
thing  to  be  done  on  the  part  of  either  when  a  book 
is  to  be  written  is  to  carefully  prepare  the  terrain 
upon  which  their  figures  have  moved  or  are  to 
move.  Curtius,  the  famous  historian  of  Greece,  ninstrationi 
has  given  us  in  the  first  pages  of  his  history  a  clear  and  Mstorian. 
picture  of  that  wonderful  peninsula.  When  one 
can  travel  in  imagination  all  over  that  country,  can 
see  Thermopylae  and  Marathon,  can  climb  the 
Acropolis  or  wander  over  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth, 
can  view  Sparta  in  all  its  surroundings,  he  is,  in  a 
measure,  ready  to  follow  the  fascinating  movements 
of  the  characters,  either  real  or  imaginary,  from 
Hercules  to  Bozzaris.  The  novelist,  with  a  freer 
pen  and  more  fanciful  range  of  thought,  is  wont  to 
describe  minutely  the  landscape  upon  which  he 
designs  to  place  his  characters.  Test  yourselves 
in  this  respect,  and  you  will  see  better  what  I  mean. 
Recall  the  farm  upon  which  you  were  born  (if  you 
were  so  fortunate),  or  any  other  scene  that  is  fixed 
in  your  mind  by  long  familiarity :  how  from  each 
tree,    running  stream,   valley,  or  hill  start   thou- 


120 


Talks  on  Teaching, 


AU  that  is 
changing 
should  be  held 
in  immovable 
forms. 


Vertical 
forms  de- 
termine  the 
character  of 
continents. 


Also  charac- 
ter of  inhabi- 
tants and 
bistory. 


sands  of  recollections,  bound  to  tliem  by  the  great 
law  of  association.  Were  I  to  tell  you  that  such 
and  such  changes  had  been  made,  a  house  built 
here,  a  road  there,  how  quickly  would  your  imagi- 
nation make  a  picture  of  the  changes,  and  these 
pictures  would  thereafter  be  held  firmly  in  your 
memory.  Now  what  the  novehsts  and  historians 
do  in  order  to  make  us  remember  their  stories  and 
histories  should  be  done  with  the  structure  of  the 
whole  earth,  and  for  the  same  purpose.  So  that 
cities,  political  divisions,  the  movements  of  men, 
and  all  that  is  continually  moving  and  changing, 
may  be  retained  and  held  in  the  forms  and  spaces 
that  do  not  change.  My  first  argument,  then,  for 
the  teaching  of  structural  geography  is  that  it  is 
an  essential  and  fixed  basis  for  the  memory  of  eter- 
nally changing  facts. 

The  character  of  the  vertical  forms  of  continents 
determines  their  horizontal  shape  or  outline.  This 
is  plainly  seen  in  the  relations  of  highlands  to  the 
seacoast.  The  vertical  forms  also  determine  the 
drainage  of  a  continent.  The  immense  uplifted 
masses  may  be  called  the  bones  or  framework,  the 
drainage  the  life-blood  of  continental  forms.  The 
soft  earth  or  soil,  worn  away  from  rocks,  that  gives 
us  fertile  or  arable  land  is  deposited  by  the  drain- 
age of  varying  slopes.  Thus,  you  see,  with  the 
exception  of  the  important  element  of  climate,  the 
structure  limits  the  occupation,  resources  of  food, 
shelter,  clothing,  and  health  of  man.  The  char- 
acter of  mankind  depends,  to  an  immense  degree, 
upon  the  character  and  position  of  these  structural 


Geography,  lii 

forms.  Compare  North  America  with  Africa, — 
the  one  with  great  mountain  masses  sloping  gradu- 
ally down  to  lower  levels,  and  then  to  the  sea; 
with  its  great  navigable  rivers  and  accessible  coast ; 
the  other  with  mountain  masses,  to  be  sure,  but 
with  no  extensive  gradual  slopes,  so  that  its  rivers 
to  gain  their  outlets  must  break  through  plateaus, 
thus  forbidding  navigation, — and  we  have  a  picture 
of  two  widely  different  continental  forms.  They 
are  the  extremes.  One  with  the  conditions  for 
steadily  moving  arterial  blood,  like  the  horse ;  the 
other  for  the  stagnation  and  slowness  of  the  tortoise. 
The  greatness  of  nations  may  be  traced  directly  to 
the  structural  forms  upon  which  they  lived  and 
thrived.  Egypt,  with  its  narrow  strip  of  very 
fertile  land  fed  by  the  Nile,  is  bounded  by  vast 
deserts,  to  keep  off  invaders.  Palestine  is  a  natural 
fortress  with  its  great  wall  on  the  Jordan  side,  its 
rocky  desert  on  the  south,  but  with  one  weak  point, 
the  fatal  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Had  that  great  rift 
in  the  earth's  crust,  extending  from  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  to  the  Dead  Sea,  never  been  made,  the  his- 
tory of  that  wonderful  and  powerful  nation  that 
gave  us  the  foundation  for  our  religion  never 
would  have  been.  The  Grecian  peninsula  had  all 
the  conditions  for  the  development  of  its  wonderful 
history. 

The  study  of  the  structure  of  the  earth's  surface    study  of 

•^  /.     n        1       stntcture  the 

forms  the  natural  basis  of  the  study  of  all  other  t)asis^of^ 

Physical  Sciences.     A  knowledge  of  the  surface  issci«ac«8« 

the  elementary  study  of  the  crust  of  the  earth,  and 

leads  directly  to  Geology,  and  that  to  Mineralogy. 


122  Talks  on  Teaching, 

Drainage  determines  the  soil,  and  upon  soil  and 
climate  depends  vegetation,  thus  leading  directly 
to  Botany.  Upon  the  vegetation  depends  animal 
life,  the  study  of  which  gives  us  the  science  of 
Zoology.  The  movements  and  phenomena  pertain- 
ing to  structure  give  us  both  Physics  and  Physical 
Geography ;  the  measurement  of  form  and  move- 
ment of  the  earth,  Mathematical  Geography;  its 
parts  and  composition.  Chemistry.  All  these  sci- 
ences are  the  direct  outgrowth  of  structural  geog- 
raphy. Structural  geography,  then,  may  be  called 
the  elementary  science  upon  which  all  other  sci- 
ences are  founded.  This  branch  has  hitherto  been 
almost  entirely  overlooked  or  neglected.  Indeed, 
I  am  obliged  to  invent  a  new  name  for  this  new 
science — Structural  Geography. 
Humboldt,         Humboldt,  by  his  careful  observations  and  gen- 

Ritterand  '     •^  ^ 

^yot,  and  eralizations,  made  it  possible  for  Carl  Kitter  to 
discover  a  science  of  geography.  The  study  of 
geography  previous  to  Ritter's  time  consisted  of 
the  learning  of  a  conglomerated  mass  of  isolated 
and  disconnected  facts,  that  must  be  held  in  the 
mind  by  the  sheer  force  of  verbal  memory.  The 
progress  of  the  new  science  has  been,  and  is,  ex- 
ceedingly slow.  Guyot,  the  pupil  and  disciple  of 
Ritter,  made  for  us  his  unequalled  Common-school 
Geography.  But  the  book  has  been  a  failure,  and 
is  now  out  of  print,  because  teachers  who  had  been 
taught  in  the  old  way  could  not  comprehend  its 
great  beauty. 


TALK  XIX. 

GEOGRAPHY,   CONTINUED. 

In  my  last  talk  I  tried  to  show  that  structural  how  can 
geography  is  the  true  basis  of  geographical  and  be  t)uiit  in 
historical  knowledge.  I  shall  endeavor  to  show 
in  this  talk  how  it  should  be  taught.  The  purpose 
is  to  fix  in  the  mind  clear,  comprehensive  pictures 
of  the  forms  of  continents.  These  forms  are  made 
up  of  slopes.  The  slopes  range  from  the  gradual 
(level  plains)  to  the  most  abrupt  (mountains). 
These  forms,  of  course,  cannot  be  seen,  and  the 
question  is,  How  can  they  be  brought  into  or  built 
in  the  mind?  All  we  know  of  the  unseen  must  be 
known  by  the  mental  power  we  call  imagination. 

The  law  by  which  the  imagination  acts  is  very    imagination 
1   •  rri,         •  J-  4.  1.   1      and  its  laws, 

plain,  ihere  is  no  disagreement  among  psycholo- 
gists concerning  it.  Imagination  is  that  power  of 
the  mind  which  combines  and  arranges,  with  more 
or  less  symmetry  and  proportion,  that  which  prima- 
rily comes  into  the  mind  through  the  senses. 
Everything  imagined  is  made  up  of  parts  already 
in  the  mind  when  the  particular  act  of  the  imagi- 
nation takes  place.  All  our  power  of  imagining  is 
absolutely  limited  to  sense  products,  already  the 
property  of  the  mind  that  imagines.  If  you  have 
never  thought  of  this,  a  very  little  reflection  will 

123 


124  Talks  on  Teaching, 

convince  you  of  its  tnitli.  Try  to  imagine  any- 
thing, and  then,  by  analysis,  notice  if  any  of  the 
parts  are  not  things  you  have  abeady  known.  The 
unseen  is  made  or  imagined  entirely  out  of  the 
seen.  The  question,  then,  in  teaching  structural 
geography  is,  How  can  the  proper  sense  products 
necessary  to  the  imaging  of  the  forms  of  continents 
be  brought  into  the  mind?  The  answer  is  near  at 
hand.  In  order  to  imagine  the  unseen  that  which 
can  be  seen  must  be  brought  clearly  into  the  mind. 
Elementary  geography  consists  of  the  close  and 
careful  observation  of  the  forms  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face around  us.  There  is  hardly  a  town  or  district 
in  the  Atlantic  States  where  each  and  aU  of  these 
forms  may  not  be  observed. 
o/caJti^a§ii&  Higher  than  mere  acquisition  of  knowledge,  geog- 
tiiis  f actaty.  raphy  is  the  very  best  means  for  developing  the 
powers  of  imagination.  Next  to  the  direct  action 
of  the  senses,  imagination  is  the  most  important  in 
its  length,  breadth,  and  depth  of  all  the  mental 
powers.  Distinct  and  true  creatures  of  the  imagi- 
nation are  an  indispensable  basis  for  reason,  and  for 
ethical  and  spiritual  culture.  No  subject  is  more 
Power  of      neglected  in   our   schools.     The   little  child  soon 

Imagrinatioii  in      '^  •  i     j*  i  • 

cMidren.        creates  a  new  world  out  oi  the  scant  matenal  oi  his 

limited  sense  products.  In  this  world  of  fancy  he  y/ 
lives  and  revels.  The  child's  life  would  be  a  sad 
one  were  it  not  for  his  own  bright,  self -created  ^ 
world.  The  little  girl  sees  a  beautiful  doll  in  a 
stick  and  a  rag.  Out  of  a  few  broken  pieces  of 
crockery  and  a  shingle  or  two  she  creates  an  ele- 
gant pantry.     A  cane  to  the  little  boy  is  a  splendid 


Geography,  125 

charger.  Fairy-stories  delight  all  children,  and 
often  contain  more  truth  than  maxims  or  precepts. 
Our  common- school  education  has  a  tendency  to 
crush  out  all  imagination,  or  force  it  into  wrong 
and  vicious  channels.  This  steady  and  strong  ten- 
dency of  the  mind  may  be  developed  into  an  im- 
mense power,  and  geography  furnishes,  as  I  have 
said,  one  of  the  very  best  means  for  its  develop- 
ment. 

The  first  steps    in  geography  should   give   the    Directions 
child  the  means  to  imagine  that  which  he  cannot  the  first  steps 

^  m  Geograpny. 

see.  Begin  with  the  forms  around  you ;  the  close 
and  careful  study  of  the  chains  or  ranges  of  hills, 
valleys,  plains,  coast-lines,  springs,  brooks,  rivers, 
ponds,  lakes,  islands,  and  peninsulas.  Study  them 
as  you  do  objects  in  Botany  or  Zoology.  Take  the 
children  out  into  the  fields  and  valleys ;  return  to 
the  school-room;  let  them  describe  orally  what 
they  have  seen;  then  mould  and  draw  it;  and, 
finally,  have  them  describe  the  objects  they  have 
seen  by  writing.  Teach  them  distance  by  actual 
measurement;  boundaries  by  fences,  and  other 
limitations ;  drainage  by  gutters,  and  the  flow  of 
water  after  a  rain.  Let  them  find  springs,  and 
discover  how  the  W9,ter  comes  out  of  the  ground. 
Have  them  bring  in  different  kinds  of  earth — 
gravel,  sand,  clay,  and  loam.  I  have  not  time 
to  give  you  any  regular  order  of  subjects — ^if 
there  be  one.  Begin  with  one  object,  study  it 
carefully,  then  take  another  and  combine  the  two, 
and  so  on.  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  especially 
to  the  three  great  means  of  thought  expression: 


126  Talks  on  Teaching. 

first,  the  concrete  expression;  second,  drawing; 
third,  language.  The  first  may  be  done  by  mould- 
ing sand  obtained  from  an  iron-foundry.  Have 
pupils  tell  you  what  they  have  seen  by  moulding 
the  form.  Second,  have  them  draw  everything 
they  see  in  relief  and  horizontally.  Third,  de- 
scribe what  they  have  seen  orally,  and  then  in 
writing.  Use  these  means  continually  in  teaching 
geography. 
t^tmf^^  '^^®  observation  of  objects  should  begin,  of 
It^^^^^  course,  as  soon  as  the  child  enters  school.  The 
objects  around  the  school-house  should  be  observed : 
yards,  fences,  gardens,  gutters,  roads,  fields,  past- 
ures, hills,  valleys.  Out  of  these  objects  many 
very  interesting  and  profitable  object  and  language 
lessons  may  be  made.  But  the  teaching  of  element- 
ary geography  proper  should  not  begin  much  before 
the  fifth  year  of  the  child's  school-life.  The  work 
of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  the  study  of  geograph- 
ical forms  that  may  be  observed,  should  be  begun 
the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  year,  or  the  first  of  the 
fifth.  One  year,  at  least,  should  be  spent  in  this 
study.  Parallel  with  it  books  like  Each  and  All, 
Seven  Little  Sisters,  Guyot's  Introduction,  may  be 
read  with  great  profit.  They  seem  to  excite  curios- 
ity and  inspire  the  imagination.  The  power  of 
imagination  should  be  developed  at  every  step. 
Thus,  after  a  lesson  upon  the  hill  tell  the  children 
about  the  great  mountains  in  the  world.  When 
they  have  seen  one  river,  tell  them  about  others 
that  they  can't  see.  When  they  have  examined, 
moulded,  drawTJ,  and  written  a  description  of  one 


Geography.  127 

peninsula,  draw  other  peninsulas,  like  Spain,  Italy, 
Greece,  Florida,  IRorway  and  Sweden,  for  them. 
When  they  have  studied  an  island,  tell  them  about 
the  great  islands  (the  continents). 

Constantly  excite  their  curiosity  to  solve  problems  e^^J^cSio^s^i- 
like  these:  Where  does  the  water  go  when  it  falls ty^^^gi|ad^o 
on  the  ground?  How  far  down  does  it  go? 
What  does  it  do  in  the  earth?  When  does  it  come 
out  of  the  ground?  Where  is  the  more  water,  in 
rivers  and  lakes,  or  in  the  ground?  Why  does  not 
a  river  run  in  a  straight  line?  What  turns  it? 
Why  is  it  narrow  at  some  places  and  wide  at  others? 
Take  the  water  out  of  a  lake,  and  what  would  you 
have  left?  What,  then,  is  a  lake?  Where  does 
a  river  get  its  water?  How  much  land  does  a  river 
drain?  What  is  the  difference  between  a  river  and 
a  canal?  What  if  the  earth  was  all  level,  like  the 
floor?  What  are  the  uses  of  a  river?  a  hill?  a 
plain?  a  valley?  When  does  the  water  come  into 
the  land  on  the  coast?  What  makes  a  pebble? 
What  is  the  difference  between  a  pebble  and  a  grain 
of  sand?  a  pebble  and  a  great  piece  of  rock?  and 
a  quarry?  These  and  other  questions,  when  skil- 
fully used,  and  the  child  is  led  to  discover  every- 
thing for  himself,  may  be  made  a  source  of  deep 
and  abiding  interest  on  the  part  of  children.  The 
philosophy  of  geography  may  begin  as  soon  as  the 
child  can  make  the  slightest  generalization. 

When  the  child  has  in  his  mind  the  necessary   Reasons 

1.1  1       •       .      1     -1  1    xi  ^:  forteachingr 

sense  products,  he  may  begm  to  build  the  conti-  the  continent 

1.1  mi  .11     Tbeforethe 

nents,  as  the  next  simplest  step.     The  pupil  can  be  cowity  or 
led  to  imagine  the  continent  far  easier  than  he  can 


128  Talks  on  Teaching* 

be  led  to  imagine  any  part  of  it.  Strange  as  it  may 
seem  at  first  thought,  an  entire  continent  is  simpler, 
in  its  general  construction,  than  a  single  town  or 
district.  It  is  a  mistake,  then,  to  begin  with  states 
and  sections  before  the  entire  continent  is  imagined. 
There  is  a  common  rule  in  teaching  geography 
which  leads  to  the  teaching  of  the  immediate  sur- 
roundings of  the  school-house,  the  district,  the 
town,  the  county,  the  state.  This  order  is  illogical, 
because  the  county  is  more  difiicult  to  imagine,  as 
I  have  said,  than  the  entire  continent.  The  reason 
why  we  teach  the  surroundings  is  misunderstood. 
The  purpose  of  teaching  that  which  can  be  seen 
and  examined  is  simply  and  solely  to  enable  the 
child  to  imagine  the  unseen.  The  great  highlands, 
long  slopes,  and  regular  vertical  forms  of  the  whole 
continent  is,  to  my  mind,  the  next  simplest  step 
when  the  facts  of  elementary  geography  are  in  the 
child's  mind. 
The  wholes       Another  pedae^Offical  rule  is  often  wrongly  ap- 

of  sense-grasp  r        &  t?  &  ./      r 

93i^umAgi-  plied :  Begin  with  the  whole,  and  go  to  the  parts. 
Thus,  many  teachers  think  that  the  whole  must  be 
the  great  globe  itself.  The  rule  should  be  changed 
to :  Begin  with  any  whole  that  is  in  the  mind,  and 
go  to  the  parts.  I^ow  there  are  two  kinds  of 
wholes.  One  is  the  whole  of  sense-grasp;  the 
other  is  the  whole  of  the  imagination.  The  latter 
depends  entirely,  as  I  have  tried  to  show,  upon  the 
former.  Not  until  the  child  has  the  acquired 
power  of  imaging  or  synthesizing  the  whole  conti- 
nent is  he  able  to  analyze  or  even  think  of  the  parts ; 
bow  much   less  is  he   able  to  imagine  the   great 


Geography*  129 

round  ball  we  call  tlie  earth !  The  reasonable  road 
to  this  knowledge  is,  first,  sense  products  of  geo- 
graphical forms;  second,  whole  continents;  then, 
parts  of  continents;  and  last,  by  means  of  the 
acquired  power  of  synthesis,  the  whole  globe. 

Mathematical  ffeosrraphy,  then,  should  be  the  last    Mathemati- 

o     o     r    ./  5  5  cal  Geography; 

geographical  subject  taught.  But  from  the  first  to  when  it  should 
the  last  the  facts  necessary  to  the  teaching  of 
matliematical  geography  should  be  picked  up  all 
along  the  Hne.  The  seasons,  with  all  their  changes 
of  rain  and  sunshine,  snow  and  ice,  dry  and  wet 
weather,  growth  and  death  of  vegetation,  heat 
and  cold,  the  sun  and  its  movements,  the  moon 
and  stars — when  they  rise,  how  they  look,  what 
they  do,  so  far  as  children  can  observe,  should  be 
made  the  constant  subjects  of  observation.  Mark 
out  on  the  floor  the  limits  of  the  sunbeams  as  they 
stiike  through  the  window.  Do  the  same  thing 
the  next  day  at  the  same  liour.  Note  the  differ- 
ence, and  wonder  how  it  all  comes  about. 

Compare  this  teaching  of  real  geography,  that 
delights  children  at  every  step,  that  trains  close  ob- 
servation, lays  the  foundation  for  the  development 
of  imagination,  and  forms  the  elementary  steps  of 
all  physical  sciences,  with  the  rote-learning  of  a 
mass  of  dry,  disconnected  facts,  found  in  the  so- 
called  prunary  geography.  Which  does  the  most 
good?  is  a  (question  I  leave  for  you  to  decide. 


TALK    XX. 

GEOGRAPHY,  CONTINUED. 

meanf t).y*  When  the  elementary  facts  have  been  carefully 

contiSnu?*  gathered,  the  building  of  the  continents  should 
begin.  By  building  of  the  continents,  I  mean 
that  the  teacher  should  combine  the  acquired  sense 
products  into  a  picture  of  the  horizontal  and  verti- 
cal structure  of  the  continent,  so  that  the  pupil  can 
travel,  in  imagination,  all  over  the  structure,  and 
mentally  see  its  parts.  This  picture  at  first  is  a 
general  one,  a  bird's-eye  view,  to  be  gradually 
filled  up  and  intensified  in  details  by  all  after- 
study  of  the  continents.  It  is  to  form  the  mental 
framework  of  all  the  facts  that  will  be  afterward 
learned.  In  this  framework  of  memory,  cities, 
boundaries,  mining  and  agricultural  regions,  may 
be  placed  and  retained.  Geography,  as  commonly 
taught,  leaves  out  the  indispensable  conception  of 
upraised  forms,  and  limits  the  study  to  the  plain 
surface  of  a  map,  using  the  artificial  helps  to  mem- 
ory of  color  and  boundary  lines.  In  tliis  teaching 
of  geography,  maps,  both  plain  and  relief,  together 
witli  description,  are  used  simply  as  aids  in  imagin- 
ing the  real  continent.  That  is,  tlie  mind  is  to  bo 
carried  beyond  the  symbols  to  the  real  tilings  them- 
selves. 


Geography,  131 

The  general  forms  of  continents  are  x3omparatively  what  a  con- 
simple.  In  the  first  teaching,  the  teacher  should 
try  to  fix  this  general  form  in  the  mind,  with  very 
little  attention  to  details.  The  body  of  land  we 
call  a  continent  consists  wholly  of  slopes,  bounded 
by  rivers  and  coast-lines.  It  may  be  taken,  at  first, 
as  one  great  mass  of  land  raised  above  the  sea. 
The  first  division  that  should  be  made  is  a  division 
into  great  and  lesser  upraised  masses  or  highlands. 
These  upraised  masses  are  bounded  by  coast-lines 
on  one  side,  and  the  line  of  the  lowest  level  be- 
tween them.  The  mountain  ranges  are  simply  the 
tops  or  apexes  of  these  highlands.  They  form,  in 
themselves,  a  very  small  part,  comparatively,  of  the 
highland  masses.  Thus,  we  start  from  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  line  of  the  lowest  level  between  the  east- 
ern and  western  highlands,  and  travel  west  on  that 
which  looks  like  level  ground,  until  we  rise  seven 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  before  a  mountain  is 
seen. 

I  wish  to  speak  now  of  moulding  these  forms  in   Moulding  in 

7  ,  ...  .  Geography ; 

sand,  as  an  aid  to  the  imagination  m  getting  pic-  its  use  and 
tures  of  the  upraised  forms.  First,  let  me  say 
that  the  moulding,  like  maps  and  other  means  of 
description,  is  simply  and  solely  a  help  to  the  im- 
agination. If  the  mind  sticks  in  the  '* mud-pie," 
as  it  is  often  called,  the  mud  is  of  little  or  no  use. 
The  teacher  should  be  constantly  carrying  the  chil- 
dren's minds  from  the  symbol  to  the  symbolized. 
An  objection  is  often  made  to  relief  maps,  because 
they  exaggerate  heights.  It  is  impossible  to  repre- 
sent to  the  eye  the  relative  heights  of  the  earth's 


132  Talks  on  Teaching. 

surface.  If  relief  maps  are  not  used,  I  would  like 
to  ask  the  objectors,  What  means  have  you  of  lead- 
ing the  pupils  to  imagine  continental  forms  ?  As 
the  mind  is  led  from  the  relief  to  the  reality,  when 
extent  can  be  imagined,  the  relative  heights  will 
take  their  true  place.  A  board  or  table,  3X4 
feet,  with  raised  edges;  half  a  barrel  of  sifted 
foundry  sand,  dampened  so  that  it  can  be  easily 
worked  with  the  hands,  is  material  enough  for 
moulding.  A  few  weeks'  practice  on  your  part, 
will  enable  you  to  mould  any  continental  form  with 
a  considerable  degree  of  skill. 
Howto teach  You  may  begin  in  several  ways.  I  should  begin 
moulding:.  with  the  continent  that  has  the  simplest  form — 
South  America.  Throw  up  the  great  highlands, 
that  extend  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan  to  Panama. 
Lead  pupils  to  see  how  the  highland  determines  the 
outline  of  the  western  coast.  Compare  the  abrupt 
slope  on  one  side  with  the  long  and  gradual  slope 
on  the  other.  Lead  them  to  see  that,  if  the  west- 
em  coast  is  determined  by  the  highlands,  the  east- 
ern coast  must  also  be  so  determined.  That,  if 
there  were  no  other  highlands,  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  would  cut  into  the  land,  so  as  to  form  two 
abrupt  slopes  on  either  side.  Now,  the  lesser  high- 
lands of  Brazil  and  Guiana  may  be  thrown  up,  and 
the  pupils  will  readily  see  what  determines  the  out- 
line of  the  eastern  coast.  I^ext,  from  the  simple 
laws  of  drainage  they  have  already  learned,  they 
will  be  able  to  locate  the  great  river  basins.  The 
different  degrees  of  fertility  may  also  be  discovered 
in  the  same  way.    Have  each  pupil  mould  the  con- 


Geography.  133 

tinent.  For  this  purpose  small  pieces  of  board 
with  raised  edges  may  be  used,  or  shallow  tin  pans, 
that  can  be  placed  on  their  desks.  The  discussions 
of  the  effect  of  the  form  upon  drainage,  soil,  and 
vegetation  should  go  on  hand  in  hand  with  the 
moulding.  The  outline  of  the  continent  may  be 
drawn  from  the  moulded  form,  and  the  great  high- 
lands and  rivers  designated.  Drawing  should  he  j^^^^p.  *^^J-g 
constantly  used,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  ^*^  •^®*^^^' 
all  geographical  and  historical  teaching.  The  aim 
should  not  be  to  draw  nice,  accurate  maps,  but  to 
express  thought  in  a  rapid  way.  The  first  thing 
in  all  description  in  geography  or  history  should 
be  a  map  of  the  country  or  section  under  study. 

When  the  general  form  of  one  continent  lias  ^ JJ^^^der^of 
been  moulded,  drawn,  and  studied,  take  the  next  <^<>^*^®^*^' 
in  order  of  simplicity — N^orth  America.  When 
North  America  has  been  moulded,  the  two  conti- 
nents should  be  compared.  First,  lead  pupils  to 
discover  the  resemblances  between  them ;  then  the 
differences.  Have  them  drawn  and  moulded  in 
their  relative  position.  Lead  pupils  to  trace  the 
great  highland  mass  from  Patagonia  to  Alaska. 
Follow  this  with  the  moulding  of  Africa.  By  com- 
paring this  continent  with  North  and  South  Amer- 
ica, pupils  may  be  led  to  discover  the  causes  of  the 
wonderful  differences  in  their  history  and  develop- 
ment. They  can  reason  from  cause  to  effect,  and 
by  such  reasoning  discover  what  an  immense  in- 
fluence structure  has  upon  civilization.  Asia  and 
Europe,  followed  by  Australia,  may  be  successively 
moulded  and  drawn.     The  comparisons  should  be 


134  Talks  on  Teaching. 

constantly  made.  All  the  moulding  and  drawing 
should  be  on  a  scale  of  distances  which  will  de- 
velop the  power  of  judging  extent.  The  conti- 
nents should  be  located  on  the  globe,  so  that  their 
relative  positions  may  be  seen,  and  the  proper 
preparation  made  for  the  study  of  mathematical 
geography.  The  principal  islands  and  groups  of 
islands  should  be  studied  in  the  same  way  as  the 
continents.  The  continental  islands  may  be  dis- 
covered as  broken  fragments  of  the  mainland. 
1  "^^f^^°^"  With  this  study  of  continental  forms,  descrip- 
study  of  conti-  tions  of  vegetation,  climate,  soil,  and  peoples  should 
go  on;  not  in  a  definite  and  particular  way,  but 
enough  should  be  given  to  feed  the  imagination,  to 
arouse  curiosity,  and  clothe  the  dry  bones  of  the 
structure  with  the  warm  coloring  of  living  forms. 
Children  should  read  travels,  bits  of  history,  etc., 
in  connection  with  this  work  of  moulding  and 
drawing. 


TALK  XXI. 


GEOORAPHY,    CONCLUDED. 

"W"e  have  now  the  general  picture  of  the  great    The  placing 

11  .1^.1  .1  rrn  M  of  continents 

land  masses  that  rise  above  the  sea.     ihe  pupil  can  in  their  reia- 

....         tive  positions. 

recall  them,  can  travel  over  them  m  imagination. 
With  the  placing  of  the  continents  in  their  relative 
positions  on  the  globe,  some  conception  of  climate 
may  be  taught.  Locating  the  great  rivers  and 
their  basins  has  brought  the  children  to  the  study 
of  drainage;  and  this,  in  turn,  has  furnished  a 
basis  to  the  study  of  vegetation.  The  soil  and 
great  staple  productions  of  all  the  continents  may 
be  now  learned  quicker  and  better  than  the  soil  and 
productions  of  a  single  country,  in  the  old  way,  of 
memorizing  facts,  which  were  the  staple  products 
of  the  old  geographies.  All  the  maps  of  the  conti- 
nents may  be  drawn  upon  the  board  in  their  rela- 
tive positions,  as  they  appear  on  the  Mercator  Pro- 
jection. The  soil  may  be  divided  into  fertile, 
arable,  and  barren,  and  indicated  by  colored  crayons  Lessons  on 
upon  the  maps.  Lessons  upon  soil  should  be  given  ^ 
and  specimens  of  the  various  kinds  of  earth,  from 
gravel  to  vegetable  mould,  examined.  If  you  have 
a  bit  of  ground  near  the  school-house  raise  all  the 
different  kinds  of  useful  plants  that  you  can.  Then  vegetation. 
take   up   successively  all   the   great   food  staples. 

135 


136  Talks  on  Teaching, 

Locate  the  wheat,  the  rice,  the  corn,  the  potato, 
and  the  rje  regions,  and  indicate  them,  as  I  have 
said,  in  colors  on  the  maps.  Follow  these  with 
the  luxuries  in  the  way  of  food — coffee,  tea,  cocoa, 
etc.  Then  the  subject  of  shelter  and  fuel  may  be 
studied,  the  forests  and  kinds  of  wood.  Lessons 
should  be  given  upon  specimens  of  wood.  Plants 
used  for  clothing  may  come  next ;  the  cotton  and 
flax,  the  caoutchouc,  etc.,  may  be  located.  This 
study  of  plants,  as  I  have  said,  leads  us  directly  to 
the  study  of  Botany. 

Animals.  From  vegetation  they  may  go  to  animals.     These 

may  be  classified,  and  their  haunts  discovered; 
animals  for  food,  animals  for  clothing,  beasts  of 
burden,  domestic  and  wild  animals.  This  distribu- 
tion may  be  noted  by  drawing  the  animals  on  the 
map  as  they  are  distributed  over  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  You  will  readily  see  that  by  this  work  you 
have  created  a  necessity  for  the  study  of  Zoology. 

Mines  and         ]S[ext  mines  and  quarries  may  be  located.     Stone 

Quames  lo-  ^  •' 

catedo  and  metals   for  shelter,   for   machinery,  and  for 

money  and  luxury  may  be  dug  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  by  the  eager  imagination  of  the  pupil. 
Coal  and  salt  mines  may  be  explained,  and  the 
wonderful  story  of  their  creation  be  told.  We  are 
thus  brought  naturally  to  the  study  of  geology  and 
mineralogy.  The  study  of  the  structure,  as  I  told 
you,  leads  directly  to  the  study  of  the  construction. 
The  study  of      The  earth  is  now  made  ready  for  the  abode  of 

man  ;  races  ;  *' 

hawts^  &c.  ^"^°>  ^^^  m2in^  the  animal,  will  now  take  his  place 
on  the  earth,  created  in  the  minds  of  the  children. 
Lessons  should  be  given  on  the  races  of  men ;  and 


Geography.  137 

tiieir  peculiarities,  customs,  and  habits  described. 
The  races  may  be  located  upon  the  maps  by  color- 
ing the  maps  as  the  races  are  colored.  How 
do  men  hve?  In  what  kind  of  houses?  What 
clothing  do  they  wear?  What  do  they  eat? 
pupils  have  been  prepared  by  the  previous  lessons 
to  answer  these  questions,  with  one  exception — that 
of  the  products  brought  from  countries  by  com- 
merce. Lessons  on  government  should  now  ^^  ^  G^overMie^ts 
given — how  men  found  governments  adapted  to^^^^sions. 
their  particular  states  of  barbarity  or  civilization. 
Then  all  the  continents  may  be  divided  up  by 
boundary  lines  of  red  chalk  into  pohtical  divisions. 
In  two  or  three  days,  if  the  work  I  have  indicated 
has  been  properly  done,  all  the  political  divisions 
of  the  earth,  and  their  relative  positions,  may  be 
easily  taught;  and  more  than  that,  pupils  will  be 
ready  to  answer  these  questions  of  each  political 
division.  What  is  the  surface  and  soil  of  this 
country?  Climate?  What  the  productions?  The 
animals  and  race  of  men?  The  foundation  thus 
thoroughly  laid  enables  the  child  to  learn  more  of 
the  world  in  one  week  than  the  children  who 
memorize  the  conglomerated  mass  of  disconnected 
facts  can  learn  in  a  year.  There  is  a  place  made 
for  everything,  and  everything  is  put  in  its  place. 

We  are  now  ready  for  the  founding  of  cities,    ^*A^*»  ^- 

because  we  know  the  conditions  under  which  cities  ^^?ff5i^?!' 

and  commerce. 

may  be  founded.  Here  the  various  industries 
may  be  grouped  and  studied.  The  farmer  on  his 
farm,  the  smith  in  his  shop,  the  weaver  at  his 
loom.     The  necessity  and  invention  of  machinery 


138  Talks  on  Teaching, 

for  the  economizing  of  force.  The  use  of  steam 
and  water  power  and  electricity  in  manufactures. 
The  pupils  will  readily  discover  that  the  countries 
containing  small,  quick-flowing  rivers  must  be  the 
centres  of  manufacturing  interests.  Commerce 
may  be  made  an  excellent  review  of  what  pupils 
have  already  learned.  What  do  certain  peoples 
want?  When  and  how  will  they  get  it?  Then 
comes  the  necessity  for  ships,  steamers,  railway 
cars,  and  beasts  of  burden.  Routes  on  the  ocean 
may  be  traced  from  city  to  city,  and  country  to 
country,  and  the  great  Hues  of  iron  rails  stretched 
across  the  continents. 
Latitude,  The  relative  positions  of  the  countries  may  now 

longfltade  and  _       ^       ,.       ,  .-,,       i.  pi.      i  ii 

climate.         be  lixed  m  the  mmd  by  lines  01  latitude  and  longi- 
tude, and  the  climates  may  be  studied  on  the  same 
lines,  and  the  causes  of  the  differences  in  climate 
be  discovered. 
What  conn-      The  next  step  I  would  suff^est  is  the  study  of  a 

tries  should  he  ^  .         ^  .  .  "^     , 

•tndied.  few  very  important  countries — important  as  they 

relate  to  the  world's  progress  and  civilization. 
The  United  States  should  be  thoroughly  studied 
as  a  preparation  for  our  history.  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Germany  should  be  studied  for  the 
same  purpose.  Egypt,  Palestine,  Greece,  Italy, 
and  Spain  should  be  separately  studied  as  a  prep- 
aration for  the  study  of  Ancient  History.  The 
pupils  are  now  ready  to  watch,  with  great  eagernesw 
and  close  observation,  the  changing  mass  of  man- 
kind as  they  move  over  the  stage  that  has  been 
80  carefully  prepared  in  their  imagination.  They 
are  now  ready  for  History. 


Geography.  139 

Collateral  reading  should  be  kept  up  from  the    collateral 
beginning  to  the  end  of  all  this  work.     Histories 
adapted  to  the   children,  stories,  travels,  descrip- 
tions of  animals  and  plants — all  may  be  very  profit- 
ably used  at  every  stage  of  progress. 

Objects — kinds  of  plants,  woods,  articles  of  food,  coiiectioM  of 
clothing,  fuel,  implements  of  labor,  models  of  shel-  JiJt5?es^^ 
ters  of  all  countries  and  nations — should  be  collected 
into  a  school  museum,  and  used  in  teaching  as  they 
are  needed.  When  objects  fail,  pictures  should  be 
used.  Of  these  every  teacher  can  easily  make  a 
very  large  collection,  cut  from  illustrated  papers, 
magazines,  books,  etc.,  neatly  pasted  upon  cheap 
cardboard  and  classified.  One  set  may  be  used 
for  landscapes,  another  for  water  views,  others  for 
shelter,  cities,  animals,  races  of  men,  and  the 
various  industries. 

This  is  but  a  brief  outline  of  the  new  and  com-  ^^^l^^^^ 
paratively  untried  science  of  Geography.  The^®"'^*^* 
great  difiiculty  in  the  way  of  its  introduction  can 
be  traced  to  the  terrible  power  of  habits  fixed  by 
our  own  imperfect  education.  The  teaching  of  the 
science  of  Geography  depends  almost  entirely  upon 
the  power  to  use  the  imagination.  In  my  limited 
experience  I  find  that  the  imagination,  instead  of 
being  developed  by  the  usual  methods  of  teaching, 
is  crushed,  and  nearly  obliterated,  so  far  as  the 
action  of  the  mind  is  concerned  in  study.  The  first 
thing  for  us  to  do,  my  dear  teachers,  is  to  convince 
ourselves,  by  careful  and  thoughtful  study,  that 
there  is  a  real  science  of  Geography.  After  this  is 
done  we  may  have  the  courage  and  persistence  so 
much  needed  for  its  application  in  teaching. 


TALK  XXII. 

HISTOKY. 

What  shonid  Two  tWngs  should  be  acquired  by  the  study  of 
study  of  history  in  grammar  schools ;  first,  an  ardent  love 
for  history ;  second,  a  plan  or  method  of  studying 
the  subject.  The  main  practical  purpose  of  the  study 
of  history  is  to  guide  our  steps  in  social,  political, 
and  religious  progress.  This  philosophy  of  history, 
cannot  be  studied  to  any  great  extent  until  the 
student  reaches  the  high  school  or  college.  The 
study  of  history  in  the  grammar  schools  should  be 
confined  to  the  collection  and  arrangement  of  facts 
necessary  to  the  generalization  upon  which  the 
ers^tra2ied*by  philosophy  of  history  depends.  The  place  of  liis- 
tMs  study.  ^^^^  .^  mental  development  is  found  in  the  means 
it  affords  for  increasing  the  power  of  the  imagina- 
tion and  deduction.  Generalizations  learned  and 
recited  by  rote,  before  the  facts  are  known,  en- 
cumber the  mind  with  useless  rubbish.  There  are 
very  few  text-books  that  can  be  used  profitably  in 
grammar  schools,  because  they  are,  for  the  most 
part,  filled  with  such  generalizations.  Higginson's 
'*  Young  Folk's  History  of  the  United  States''  is 
an  exception. 
Use  of  fairy       The  active  imatrination  of  the  child,  so  strongly 

ard  mvtho-  ,,.,.  .  ,  n  .  ij 

logical  itorics.  marked  m  his  ardent  love  for  stories,  may  be  de- 

140 


History,  141 

veloped  into  a  still  greater  love  for  history.  I 
liave  spoken  briefly,  in  a  former  talk,  of  the  use  of 
fairy  and  mythological  stories  in  mental  develop- 
ment. The  child's  intense  desire  to  use  his  imag- 
ination continually  is  the  foundation  of  this  love. 
Fairy- stories  to  the  child  are  like  the  parables  of 
the  Master ;  they  contain  the  seeds  of  truth^  that  / 
will  germinate  and  fructify  in  the  child's  mind  far*^ 
better  than  the  truth  grown  to  its  full  stature,  and 
embodied  in  maxims  and  precepts.  Every  teacher 
should  be  an  excellent  story-teller,  so  as  to  make 
the  half  hour  each  day  given  to  story-telling  a 
delightful  one  to  the  children.  As  the  child  gains 
experience,  by  contact  and  communing  with  his 
fellows,  there  comes  a  time  when  the  real  should 
take  the  place  of  the  fictitious,  and  all  tlie  child's 
love  for  fancy  may  be  carried  over  and  become 
more  intensified  in  his  love  for  the  real.  Short, 
carefully  selected,  and  well-told  stories  make  a 
good  beginning  for  the  elementary  study  of  history. 
It  matters  not  whether  these  stories  be  taken  from 
ancient  or  modern  history.  They  should  be  brief, 
simple,  well  told.  Tell  the  children  the  story,  and 
have  them  tell  it  back  in  their  own  language.  Then 
let  them  write  it,  as  I  said  in  my  talk  upon  language ; 
this  furnishes  one  of  the  best  means  of  talking  with 
the  pencil.  Work  like  this  may  be  given  in  the 
fourth     year.       Pictures     representing:    historical    Detail  of  m- 

•^  X  o  direct  work 

scenes,    like    the    ' '  Landing   of    Columbus, ' '    the  from  fourth  to 

'  o  '  seventh  year. 

"  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi,"  etc.,  may  be  used 
with  excellent  effect,  both  for  language  and  history 
lessons.     First,  have  pupils  describe  what  they  see 


T42  Talks  on  Teaching* 

in  the  picture,  thus  arousing  their  curiosity,  and 
then  tell  them  the  story.  Two  years,  at  least,  may 
be  profitably  spent  in  this  work.  Eeading,  after 
the  third  year,  of  easy  and  interesting  books  upon 
history  may  be  introduced.  Books  like  ' '  Stories 
of  American  History, ' '  Quackenbos'  * '  Elementary 
History,"  and  Mrs.  Monroe's  *'Our  Country" 
— these  may  be  read  as  regular  reading  lessons. 
Pupils  should  be  required  to  tell  what  they  have 
read,  both  orally  and  in  writing.  The  sixth  year 
may  be  spent  to  advantage  in  the  study  of  the  bi- 
ographies of  a  few  great  men  and  women  around 
whose  history  very  important  facts  can  be  grouped. 
How  to  take       In  the  seventh  year,  more  direct  study  of  history 

study  of         should  beojin.     It  is  a  great  mistake  to  teach  the 
liistory.  ^  ^ 

history  of  the  United  States  unconnected  with  the 

history  of  other  nations,  whose  acts  made  our  his- 
tory possible.  From  1492  on,  the  history  of  all 
peoples  that  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  formation 
of  our  own  nation — Italy,  Spain,  France,  Holland, 
Germany,  and  Great  Britain — should  be  studied. 
In  teaching  Spanish  or  French  discoveries,  one  or 
more  topics  may  be  arranged  for  the  teaching  of 
Spain  and  France  at  the  time  of  these  discoveries. 
One  great  difiiculty  in  the  teaching  of  history,  that 
puzzles  teachers  and  text-book  makers,  is  the  im- 
mense number  of  facts  that  may  be  taught.  A 
careful  selection  of  the  subjects  to  be  taught  is  of 
Rules  for  se- tlie  first  importance.  Two  rules  should  govern  in 
topics.  the  selection  of  topics.     First,  select  subjects  that 

are  interesting;  second,  choose  those  topics  which 
bear  directly  on  the  development  of  the  progress  of 


History.  143 

the  nation,  or  upon  its  failure  and  downfall.  That 
is,  the  teaching  of  all  facts  should  be  so  directed 
that  the  pupil,  when  the  proper  time  comes,  maj  be 
able  to  study  effectively  the  philosophy  of  history. 
The  course  of  study  in  history  during  the  seventh 
and  eighth  years  should  consist  of  a  carefully 
selected  and  arranged  number  of  topics  that  cover 
the  salient  points  in  the  history  of  a  country.  They 
should  be  so  arranged  that  one  may  be  developed 
into  the  other,  and  the  whole  form  a  framework  of 
history  into  which  all  after  facts  may  come  in  their 
proper  places.  Do  not  choose  too  many  topics.  aM^gJerest^ 
One  topic,  so  taught  as  to  arouse  genuine  interest  e^pty  ^en-^°* 
and  love  for  reading  history,  will  do  more  good  ^^^"^^^°^* 
than  a  hundred  superficially  taught.  Bear  in  mind 
that  your  purpose  is  to  create  a  love  for  history. 
You  are  generating  a  power  that  is  to  act  during 
the  child's  life.  Teaching  the  child  to  memorize 
page  after  page  of  dry  dates  and  empty  generaliza- 
tions is  the  best  means  to  induce  weakness  and 
disgust  pupils,  so  that  they  will  look  upon  history 
all  their  days  as  an  unpleasant  study. 

That  which  interests  children  the  most  is  the 
facts  that  come  nearest  to  their  own  experience 
[expanded  and  exaggerated,  of  course].  Thus,  the 
inner  life  of  a  people  may  be  made  intensely  in- 
teresting. How  they  lived,  the  kind  of  houses, 
what  they  ate,  their  clothing,  customs,  and  man- 
ners, should  form  a  very  considerable  part  of  all  the 
teaching  of  history.  Besides,  in  these  facts  we 
find  the  true  secret  of  the  failure  or  growth  of  na- 
tions, of  which  the  governments,  wars,  and  great 


144  Talks  on  Teaching. 

events  are  simply  the  outcome.  A  real  picture  of 
how  a  tribe  or  nation  lives,  the  family  and  social 
relations,  the  education  and  customs,  is  of  more 
philosophical  value,  than  the  lives  of  Alexander, 
Csesar,  or  Napoleon ;  for  the  first  made  the  latter 
possible :  they  furnished  the  conditions  through 
which  great  men  become  great. 
Fix  events        In  the  talks  upon  geography  I  tried  to   show 

and  scenes  ^        ^         o     o     jt    ./ 

»ipon  clear  ^     you  of  what  immense  importance  the  knowledge 

tnres  of  stmc-  of  the  structure  of  the  earth's  surface  is  in  remem- 
tnre. 

bering  and  understanding  history.  How  the  vary- 
ing slopes  make  up  the  character  of  the  continent 
and  influence  the  civilization  of  its  peoples.  The 
main  point  which  I  wish  to  impress  upon  you  now 
is,  that  a  clear  and  distinct  picture  of  the  stage 
upon  which  the  drama  of  a  nation's  history  moves 
is  absolutely  essential  in  fixing  the  various  facts 
and  scenes  in  the  memory.  The  structure  remains 
nearly  the  same  throughout  the  ages,  and  it  is  only 
by  the  close  association  of  the  ever- changing  scenes 
of  time,  with  the  clearest  notions  of  immovable 
space,  that  these  scenes  can  be  retained  in  their 
relations  and  developments.  The  first  thing  to  be 
done,  then,  in  teaching  any  topic  is  to  fix  the 
stage  or  structure  upon  which  the  scenes  were  en- 
acted very  clearly  in  the  mind.  This  may  be  done 
best  by  moulding  the  structure  in  sand  upon  the 
moulding-board,  and  then  by  drawing  the  horizon- 
tal outline  on  the  blackboard.  !Ro  attempt  should 
ever  be  made  to  teach  a  fact  in  history  without  the 
close  accompaniment  of  moulding  and  drawing. 
History  cannot  be  well  taught  from  one  book.    I 


History,  145 

would,  if  possible,  have  each  pupil  obtain  a  differ-  Detailed  di- 
ent  book.  There  should  be  in  every  school  a  col-  tJe^eacMng 
lection  of  histories  for  reference  and  reading.  °^  *  ^°'^^* 
Works  of  fiction  should  also  be  included.  Give 
out  a  topic,  and  ask  pupils  to  read  it  up,  mention- 
ing the  best  sources  of  information  at  their  disposal. 
In  recitation,  have  them  tell  what  they  have  read ; 
add  to  their  store  of  knowledge  by  giving  them 
your  own  ;  arouse  their  curiosity,  thus  leading  them 
to  read  in  certain  directions;  discussions  may  be 
held  on  disputed  points,  and  authorities  cited.  The 
teacher  should  mould  all  that  the  pupils  bring  into 
systematic  order,  and,  finally,  when  pupils  are  full 
of  the  subject,  have  them  write  out  all  they  have 
learned.  "When  the  day  of  examination  arrives, 
select  one  or  more  of  the  topics,  and  have  pupils 
tell,  with  their  pens,  all  they  know  about  it.  The 
marking  should  be  upon  the  pupil's  power  of  re- 
search, expression  in  original  language,  and  finally, 
upon  the  use  of  language. 

Yery  much  of  the  pupil's  power  in  learning  his-  Dates;  what 
tory  depends  upon  his  ability  to  read  well,  i.e.,  ^^  they  should  be. 
get  thought  accurately  and  rapidly  by  means  of 
words.  By  this  plan  all  mere  rote-learning  is  en- 
tirely avoided.  The  memorizing  of  dates  should 
be  confined  to  the  events  that  mark  great  epochs  in 
history.  Dates  should  be  used  simply  as  labels 
upon  subjects  that  have  been  made  very  interesting 
to  pupils. 

The  danger  of  using  one   book    is   that  by   it    Caution  re- 
pupils  will  be  led  to  pin  their  faith  to  an  author,  teaching:  of  re- 

T-.  •  111  .11  r.        -1  /.  ligrious  and  po- 

i3y  using  many  books  they  will  soon  find  how  facts,  liticai  events. 


146  Talks  on  Teaching, 

causes,  and  results  differ  under  the  different  authori- 
ties. Thej  will  discover  for  themselves,  that  even 
the  best  authorities  are  not  always  reliable.  The 
teacher  should  avoid  dogmatic  opinions  in  regard  to 
politics  and  religion.  Pupils,  if  left  to  their  own 
research,  will  find  out  for  themselves  the  important 
fact  that  it  was  not  because  men  were  Republicans 
or  Democrats,  Protestants  or  Catholics,  that  so 
many  bad  acts  have  been  performed  by  various  sects 
and  parties ;  but  because  the  lust  for  power  and 
love  for  cruelty  drives  men  to  the  commission  of 
crime,  no  matter  what  their  party  name  or  sect 
may  be.  To  teach  a  child  that  the  Protestants  were 
always  right  and  pure,  that  the  Catholics  were  al- 
ways wrong  and  unjust,  is  radically  false  and  wicked. 
A  great  love  for  truth  and  justice  should  be  de- 
veloped by  real  teaching.  In  my  experience,  chil- 
dren may  be  led  to  love  the  reading  of  history  more 
than  they  do  that  of  fiction.  It  is  wonderful,  it 
would  seem  almost  incredible,  if  a  painful  experi- 
ence had  not  taught  us  otherwise,  that  the  learning 
of  history  can  be  made  a  repulsive  drudgery  on  the 
part  of  children.  Truly,  the  invention  of  the 
school-master  has  been  carried  to  the  bitter  end, 
when  children  can  be  trained  into  a  dislike  for  the 
study  of  the  grand  scenes  of  which  history  is  so 
rich  and  full. 


TALK  XXIIL 

EXAMINATIONS. 

I  BELIEVE  that  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  way    Examina- 
-  .  ^  .  1  ""    .       1  TIP  .    ti<>"^  *  gfitat 

of  real  teacnma:  to-day  is  the  standard  oi  exami- obstacle  to _ 

^  "^  good  teacliing:. 

nations.  The  cause  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  stand- 
ard for  the  work  has  a  powerful  influence  on  the 
work  itself.  What  should  examinations  be?  The 
test  of  real  teacliing — of  genuine  work.  What  is 
teaching?  Teaching  is  the  evolution  of  thought, 
and  thought  is  tlie  mind's  mode  of  action.  Teach- 
ing arouses  mental  activity,  so  as  to  develop  the 
mind  in  the  best  possible  way,  and  at  the  same 
time  leads  to  the  acquisition  of  that  knowledge 
which  is  most  useful  to  the  mind  and  its  develop- 
ment. There  is  one  other  important  factor  to  be 
considered,  and  that  is  the  training  of  that  skill 
which  leads  to  the  proper  expression  of  the  thought 
evolved.  This  factor  in  teaching  is  usually  called 
training,  the  results  of  which  are  correct  modes 
of  expression,  such  as  talking,  writing,  drawing, 
making,  and  building.  All  school-work,  then,  is 
comprehended  in  thought  and  its  expression.  It 
must  be  understood  at  every  step  that  expression 
is  only  necessary  when  thought  is  evolved.  Train 
expression  at  the  expense  of  thought,  and  we  have 
the  body  without  the  living  soul. 

147 


I4S 


Talks  on  Teaching. 


What  l8  the 
aim  of  real 
teaching  ? 


"What  the 
object  of  ex- 
aminations 
shonld  he. 


Common 
standard  false 
and  absurd. 


Real  teaching,  11  leaning  by  this  the  evolution  of 
thought,  and  the  training  of  its  expression,  does 
not  aim  at  the  learning  of  disconnected  facts. 
Heal  teaching  leads  to  the  systematic,  symmetrical, 
all-sided  upbuilding  of  a  compact  body  of  knowl- 
edge in  the  mind.  Every  faculty  of  the  mind — 
perception,  judgment,  classification,  reason,  imag- 
ination, and  memory — is  brought  into  action  in  this 
upbuilding,  or  mstruction;  and  the  foundations 
are  laid  broad  and  deep  in  sense  products.  Words 
and  all  other  means  of  expression  are  simply  indi- 
cations of  thought-building  and  its  complicated 
processes.  Examinations,  then,  should  test  the 
conditions  and  progress  of  mind  in  its  develop- 
ment. The  means  of  examination  are  found  in 
language,  oral  and  written,  in  drawing,  and  all 
other  forms  of  expression. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  the  examinations  usually 
given  simply  test  the  pupil's  power  of  memorizing 
disconnected  facts.  Take,  for  illustration,  the  in- 
numerable facts  in  history ;  of  these  that  which  a 
child  can  learn  in  a  course  of  four  or  ^\e  years' 
vigorous  study  would  be  as  a  drop  of  water  to  the 
ocean.  It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  set  an  ex- 
amination of  ten  seemingly  simple  questions  in 
history,  for  Mommsen,  Curtius,  Droysen,  Bancroft, 
and  other  eminent  historians,  which  they  would 
utterly  fail  to  pass.  How,  then,  can  we  judge  of 
a  child's  knowledge  by  asking  ten  questions?  The 
same  can  be  said  of  geography  and  the  natural 
sciences.  The  fact  is  the  only  just  way  to  examine 
pupils  is  to  find  out  what  the  teacher  has  taught, 


Examinations,  149 

and  her  manner  and  method  of  teaching.  Exami- 
nation should  find  out  what  a  child  does  know,  and 
not  what  he  does  not  know.  Suppose,  then,  that  o/Ji?hVmode 
in  the  example  just  mentioned  the  pupils  have  °^  ®^^™^^*°^' 
been  under  the  guidance  of  a  skilful  teacher,  who 
has  given  out,  one  after  another,  the  most  interest- 
ing subjects  to  be  found  in  history,  and  had  her 
pupils  read  all  they  could  find  in  various  books 
about  them,  and  after  taking  these  acquired  treas- 
ures of  knowledge,  and  arranging  the  events  in 
logical  order,  had  finally  had  the  children  write 
out  in  good  English  the  whole  story.  The  test  of 
such  work  would  simply  be  to  request  the  pupils 
to  tell  orally,  or  on  paper,  all  they  knew  about 
Columbus,  Walter  Raleigh,  Bunker  Hill,  or  any 
other  interesting  subject  they  have  studied. 

It  is  very  easy  for  one  accustomed  to  such  ex- 
aminations to  judge  of  the  true  teaching  power  of 
the  teacher  by  the  written  papers.  If  meaningless 
words  have  been  memorized,  if  there  is  a  lack  of 
research,  investigation,  and  original  thought,  the 
results  will  be  painfully  apparent.  "Whatever  the 
teacher  has  done,  or  failed  to  do,  can  be  readily 
comprehended  by  an  expert  in  examination.  In 
the  same  way  geography  and  the  sciences  may  oe 
examined.  The  test  of  spelling,  penmanship,  com- 
position, punctuation,  and  the  power  to  use  correct 
language,  can  be  tested  in  no  better  way  than  by 
the  writing  of  such  compositions  as  these. 

Examinations  should  not  be  made  the  test  of  fit-   Examina- 

/.  •  Tr.    1  1  n  1         tionnotthe 

ness  lor  promotion,     li  the  teacher  really  teaches,  proper  test  for 
,  'J  ^  promotion. 

and  faithfully  watches  the  mental  growth  of  her 


150  Talks  on  Teaching. 

pupils,  through  the  work  of  one  or  two  years,  she 
alone  is  the  best  judge  of  the  fitness  of  her  pupils 
to  do  the  work  of  the  next  grade.  If  she  does  not 
teach,  it  is  impossible  for  her  to  prepare  her  pupils 
for  advanced  work.  The  great  question  for  the 
supervisor  to  decide  is,  Has  the  teacher  the  ability 
to  instruct  the  children  in  the  proper  manner  and 
by  the  best  methods?  Is  it  possible  for  a  super- 
visor to  find  out  in  one  hour,  by  a  series  of  set 
questions,  more  than  the  teacher,  who  watches 
carefully  the  development  of  her  pupils  for  one  or 
two  years? 

Those  who  understand  children  will  readily  ap- 
preciate the  excitement  and  strain  under  which  they 
labor  when  their  fate  depends  upon  the  correct 
answering  of  ten  disconnected  questions.  It  is  well 
known  to  you  that  some  of  the  best  pupils  gen- 
erally do  their  worst  in  the  confusion  that  attends 
such  highly  wrought  nervous  states.  How  much 
better,  then,  is  it  to  take  the  entire  work  of  the 
pupil  for  the  whole  year  than  the  results  of  one 
hour  under  such  adverse  conditions? 
Toomucii^        Again,   examinations    demand   more    than  the 

demanded  of  ^ 

chudren.  children  can  perform.  What  teacher  ever  received 
a  class  from  a  lower  grade  fully  prepared  for  the 
work  fixed  by  the  examination  for  her  grade?  I 
have  never  found  one.  Supposing  children  have 
been  in  the  school  three  or  four  years  under  poor 
teaching,  and  do  not  know  anything  thoroughly — 
cannot  read,  write,  reckon,  or  think.  Now  the 
teacher  who  takes  such  poorly  prepared  pupils 
^lU8t  choose  onQ  of  two  courses.     She  must  do  th© 


Examinations,  151 

children  under  her  charge  the  greatest  possible  good 
by  teaching  them  thoroughly  what  they  have  failed 
to  learn,  and  then  have  them  fail  entirely  of  passing 
the  uniform  examinations;  or,  by  sheer  force  of 
verbal  memory,  the  paragraphs,  pages,  and  propo- 
sitions necessary  for  the  test  may  be  put  into  their 
minds.  ' '  Having, ' '  says  Spencer,  ' '  by  our  method  '^ 
induced  helplessness,  we  straightway  make  helpless- 
ness the  reason  for  our  method. ' ' 

Perfect  freedom  should  be  given  the  teacher  to  Freedom 
do  the  best  work  in  her  own  way;  that  is,  the  the  teacher, 
highest  good  of  the  child  should  be  the  sole  aim  of 
the  teacher,  without  the  slightest  regard  for  false 
standards.  The  teacher  who  strives  for  examina- 
tions and  promotions  can  never  really  teach.  The 
only  true  motive  that  should  govern  the  teacher 
must  spring  from  the  truth,  found  in  the  nature  of 
the  child's  mind  and  the  subject  taught. 

The  purpose  of  the  superintendent's  examination    The  doc- 
•*■■'■  ^  tnneof  re- 

shc>uld  be  to  ascertain  whether  the  principals  under  sponsibUity. 

his  charge  have  the  requisite  ability  and  knowl- 
edge to  organize,  supervise,  and  teach  a  large  school. 
The  examinations  of  the  principal  should  test  the 
teaching  power  of  his  teachers;  and  lastly,  the 
teacher  should  test,  by  examinations,  the  mental 
growth  of  her  pupils.  This  is  the  true  economical 
system  of  responsibility.  First  ascertain  whether 
superintendent,  principal,  and  teacher  can  be 
trusted,  and  then  trust  them. 

The  answer  to  this  proposition  I  have  heard  a    Give  the 
thousand   times.       * '  Your    plan   would   be   good IdiancV.  ^" 
enough  if  we   had  good  teachers.     The   fault  is 


152  Talks  on  Teaching. 

that  the  teachers  are  so  poor  we  cannot  trust  tliem. 
If  we  did  not  examine  them  in  this  waj,  they 
would  absolutely  do  nothing. ' '  The  fallacy  of  this 
answer  may  be  exposed  in  two  ways :  first,  a  uni- 
form examination  of  disconnected  questions  pre- 
vents the  good  teacher  from  exercising  her  art; 
second,  the  poor  teacher  will  never  be  able  to  see 
the  wide  margin  between  good  work  and  that  which 
she  does  until  the  true  test  of  real  teaching  is  placed 
before  her.  There  has  been  legislation  enough  for 
poor  teachers  and  poor  teaching.  Give  the  good 
teachers  a  chance !  The  testimony  of  countless  good 
teachers  has  been  uniform  in  this  respect.  When 
asked,  ''Why  don't  you  do  better  work?  Why 
don't  you  use  the  methods  taught  in  normal  schools, 
and  advocated  by  educational  periodicals  and 
books?  "  the  answer  is,  ''  We  cannot  do  it.  Look 
at  our  course  of  study.  In  three  weeks,  or  months, 
these  children  will  be  examined.  We  have  not  one 
moment  of  time  to  spend  in  real  teaching ! ' '  No 
wonder  that  teaching  is  a  trade,  and  not  an  art ! 
Appeal  for  ITo  wonder  there  is  little  or  no  demand  for  books 
est  study  and  upon  the  scicuce  and  art  of  teaching,  such  as 
*  Payne's  *'  Lectures,"  etc.  The  demand  fixed  by 
examiners  is  for  cram,  and  not  for  an  art ;  and  so 
long  as  the  demand  exists  so  long  will  the  teacher's 
mind  shrivel  and  dwarf  in  the  everlasting  tread- 
mill that  has  no  beginning  or  end,  and  the  more  it 
turns  the  more  it  creaks !  So  long,  too,  will  this 
tinkering  of  immortal  souls  go  on!  Teachers 
often  complain  of  their  social  position,  their  salaries, 
and  the  lack  of  sympathy  in  the  public.      * '  The 


Examinations,  i^^ 

fault,"  dear  teachers,  "is  not  in  onr  stars,  but  in 
ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings."  Instead  of 
stubbornly  standing,  and  obstinately  denying  that 
there  is  no  need  of  reform,  and  that  all  so-called 
new  methods  are  worthless,  let  us  honestly,  ear- 
nestly, prayerfully  study  the  great  science  of  teach- 
ing. Let  us  learn  and  courageously  apply  the 
truths  that  shall  set  us  free ;  and  the  day  will  soon 
come  when  the  teacher  will  lead  society  and  mould 
opinion. 


TALK  XXIV. 

SCHOOL   GOVEENMENT. 

reluitV/idtt-       "^^^  highest  intellectual  result  brought  about  bj 
cation.  elementary  instruction  is  the  power  of  attention  to 

those  objects  which  have  the  greatest  influence  in 
developing  the  mind.  It  may  also  be  said  that 
higher  education  consists  in  developing  that  power 
of  the  mind  which  enables  it  to  concentrate  all  its 
strength  upon  subjects  within  itself.  To  use  a 
psychological  term,  the  first  conscious  work  is  upon 
the  object-object;  the  second  upon  the  subject- 
object.  The  greatest  effect  either  of  attention  or 
concentration  is  brought  about  by  an  effort  of  the  will 
to  withdraw  everything  from  the  consciousness  ex- 
cept the  object  or  subject  of  thought.  The  highest 
result  of  all  government,  from  whatsoever  influence 
it  may  come,  is  found  in  the  most  complete  control 
of  the  reason  over  the  w^ill  in  all  mental  and  moral 
acts.  Before  the  child  can  reason  the  mother 
must  be  the  child's  will ;  but  neither  mother  nor 
teacher  should  ever  usurp  the  place  of  reason. 
Just  as  soon  as  a  child  can  act  from  his  own  right 
impulse  he  should  be  allowed  to  do  so.  Many  a 
prudent  parent  has  remained  the  will  of  the  child 
until  the  time  when  self-control  can  be  acquired 
had  past,  and  tlie  moment   the  guidance  of  tlie 

154 


School  Government.  155 

parent  failed  the  child  often  found  liimself  drift- 
ing on  the  sea  of  life,  a  hopeless  wreck. 
/  The  highest  motive  of  school  government  is  to mJtiveo?^*^ 
give  the  child  the  power  and  necessary  reason  to  ^^°JJ  govern- 
control  himself.     The  immediate  and  direct  motive 
of  school  government  is  the  limitation  of  mental 
power  to  attention.     That  order  is  the  best  which 
leads  the  child  to  withdraw  attention  from  all  other 
objects  except  the  one  in  hand.     Whether  the  pur- 
pose be  thinking  or  performing  some  act  of  skill,      '^- 
or  both,  the  direct  motive  of  order  remains  the 

same.     Attention  does  not  consist  of  the  attitude  of  J^^atisreai 

attention? 

the  body,  but  of  the  mind.  Pupils  may  stare  in- 
tently at  a  book,  may  be  paying  the  strictest  atten- 
tion to  the  eyes  of  the  teacher,  while  their  minds 
are  '  *  over  the  hills  and  far  away. ' '  There  is  a  vast 
difference  between  real  and  apparent  attention.  In 
the  one  the  thing  attended  to  fills  and  controls  the 
consciousness;  in  the  other  the  body  may  be  in 
correct  attitude,  the  eye  fixed  upon  the  object,  the 
picture  of  the  object  may  be  upon  the  retina,  but 
the  presence  of  other  objects  of  thought  in  the 
consciousness  shuts  out  all  perception  of  the  object 
seen.      Attention   may   be   impelled   by  a   desire    Twowaysin 

•      .  c  .,1  .        P  -,  .  ^wMchitmay 

sprmgmg  Irom  within,  irom  the  attractiveness  of  Regained, 
the  object ;  or  compelled  from  without  by  the  will 
of  the  teacher,  who  expresses  her  will  by  means  of 
rewards  and  punishments.  The  first  great  question, 
then,  for  the  teacher  to  decide  is,  To  what  extent 
can  the  attractiveness  of  the  object  be  made  to  con- 
trol attention?  That  is,  in  what  measure  can  the 
interest  of  the  child  and  the  love  of  work  be  excited 


156  Talks  on  Teaching, 

and  quickened  so  as  to  reduce  tlie  amount  of  re- 
wards and  punishments? 
mSke'th^ub-  /  The  natural  growth  of  the  child,  both  mentally 
gct^attrac-  ^^^  physically,  is  a  healthy,  happy  growth.  That 
the  growth  may  be  natural  the  means  of  growth 
must  be  exactly  adapted  at  every  step  to  the  vary- 
ing conditions  of  the  child.  No  one  will  deny  this 
proposition,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  physical  growth. 
Food,  exercise,  and  clothing  that  meet  the  exact 
wants  of  the  child  produce  the  best  conditions  for- 
health  and  strength.  I  believe  that  this  truth  ap-  J 
plies  with  equal  power  to  the  mind  as  to  the  body. 
"We  have  many  criticisms  upon  the  so-called  natural 
teaching,  as  though  it  were  a  kind  of  teaching  that  / 
led  the  child  to  grow  in  some  wild,  uncertain  way,  ^ 
following  his  own  propensities  and  desires.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  shallow  criticisms  that  emanate 
from  those  who  are  troubled  by  the  IS'ew  Educa- 
tion, and  not  having  studious  habits  that  would  en- 
able them  to  study  thoroughly  the  reasons  for  bet- 
ter teaching,  they  reply  to   everything   by  stale, 

Definition  of  ready-made,   stock  arguments.     Natural   teaching 
natural  teach-  *^  ,  .  i  i  i  -. 

ins-  means  nothmg  more  nor  less  than  tlie  exact  adap- 

tation of  the  subject  taught  to  the  learning  mind ; 
and  that  adaptation  leads  the  mind  to  grow  in  a 
normal,  healthy  way.  As  that  physical  exercise 
which  is  best  suited  to  the  growth  and  strength 
of  the  body  always  delights  the  heart,  so  the  natu- 
ral exercise  of  the  mind  must  bring  a  still  higher 
pleasure.  / 
tenprin^fpfes  ^^^7  ^^  Gro^l's  elementary  method  of  training  the  / 
education.       child  to  work.     The  kindergarten  is  founded  upon 


School  Government,  157 

the  child's  intense  love  of  play.  Who  ever  saw 
anything  but  constant  delight  oh  the  faces  of  the 
little  children  in  a  true  kindergarten,  where  hands 
and  heads  and  hearts  are  in  continual  harmonious 
action?  The  secret  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  child's 
life  consists  of  building,  weaving,  drawing,  taking 
apart  and  putting  together,  and  at  the  same  time 
feeding  the  imagination  for  higher  flights.  When 
should  this  delightful  play  and  work  stop?  When 
the  primary  teacher  meets  him  at  the  door  of  a  / 
castle,  fetters  his  active  limbs  to  a  hard  seat,  and 
imprisons  his  expanding  mind  in  a  narrow  cell 
walled  by  unmeaning  hieroglyphics?  ]^o!  A  thou- 
sand times  no !  It  is  cruelty  to  stop  the  blessed 
work  done  in  the  kindergarten.  Froebel  said  that 
the  principles  he  discovered  and  advocated,  when 
thoroughly  applied,  would  revolutionize  the  world ; 
and  he  was  right.  In  the  kindergarten  is  the  seed- 
corn  and  germination  of  the  New  Education  and  v 
the  new  life.  The  seed  has  been  planted,  the  buds 
and  flowers  are  turned  toward  the  sun :  let  not  the 
chilling  frost  of  traditional  teaching  blight  and 
wither  them.  One  and  all  of  the  true  principles 
of  education  are  applied  in  the  kindergarten ;  these 
principles  should  be  applied  (simply  changing  the 
application  to  adapt  it  to  different  stages  of  growth) 
through  all  education,  up  to  the  gates  of  heaven. 

The  strufferle  of  development  consists  in  acquir-    Contrast  be- 

tween  tlie  two 

ing  knowledge  and  skill  so  thoroughly  that  it  can  ideals  in  edu- 
sink  into  the  automatic,  thus  leaving  the  mind  free 
for   new  attainments.     The  conflict   between  the 
kindergarten  and  the  old  education  is  the  strife  for 


158  Talks  on  Teaching, 

the  mastery  between  two  vastly  different  ideals — 
the  ideal  of  quantity  learning  and  the  ideal  of  har- 
monious mental  growth.  The  one  must  be  com- 
pelled, as  it  always  has  been,  by  the  rod  or  ignoble 
emulation ;  the  other  finds  its  glowing  impulses  in 
the  inward  joy  of  living  and  growing  just  as  the 
mind's  Creator  designed  when  He  planted  in  the 
human  mind  the  vast  possibilities  to  be  realized  by 
the  application  of  His  truth.  I  mean  by  this  that 
all  the  teaching  in  our  schools,  if  Nature  be  fol- 
lowed, will  bring  decided  and  permanent  pleasure. 
One  great  reason  why  we  continue  unnatural  teach- 
ing may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  strongest 
tendencies  and  hnpulses  of  beautiful  child-nature  \/ 
are  utterly  ignored.  Every  child  loves  nature: 
the  birds,  flowers,  and  beasts  are  a  source  of  ex- 
haustless  curiosity  and  wonder.  Carry  this  love  into 
the  school-room,  bring  the  child  closer  and  closer  to 
the  thought  of  God  and  His  creatures,  and  that 
implanted  desire  to  know  more  and  more  of  His 
works  will  never  cease. 
Teachevery-      Keadini^r,  writing,  spelling,  numbers,  are  simply 

thing  with  the   ,  ^'    -       ^^f'     ^         f       .  '       -  ^  ^ 

stimulus  of      the  means  01  getting  an  education,  and  they  may 
loves.  be  all  beautifully  taught  under  the  delightful  stim- 

ulus of  that  which  a  child  loves.  The  child  has  a 
strong  desire  to  express  his  thoughts  in  the  concrete 
be  re-creating  the  forms  that  come  into  his  mind, 
niustration:  He  makes  mud-pies,  hills  and  valleys,  fences  and 
S-awinjf.*^  houses,  with  childish  glee.  Carry  this  same  im- 
pelling tendency  into  the  school-room ;  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  the  grand  science  of  geometry  by  moulding 
in  clay.     Next  to  the  child's  love  for  making  forms 


School  Government.  159 

comes  the  joy  he  finds  in  drawing ;  a  child  loves  to 
draw  as  well  as,  if  not  better  than,  he  loves  to  talk. 
Continue  this  love  by  putting  crayon  or  pencil  in 
his  hand  as  soon  as  he  enters  school,  and  give  him 
free  room  to  express  all  he  can.  These  tendencies 
are  the  thrifty  roots  of  true  mental  and  moral 
growth ;  foster  and  nurture  them  by  good  teaching, 
and  soon  we  will  have  a  new  and  better  race  of 
men.  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  say,  but  a  strong  belief  jj^^emoraUz^- 
in  the  immense  possibilities  in  the  human  mind  to  gaciuSe?^^ 
grow  far  beyond  any  past  attainments  compels  me 
to  express  what  I  believe,  and  that  is  that  most 
primary  teaching  crushes  the  best  and  highest  ten- 
dencies of  the  mind,  blights  and  withers  imagina- 
tion, stultifies  reason,  and  then  (by  artificial  meth- 
ods) strives  earnestly  and  honestly  to  build  up  the 
mind  on  this  ruined  foundation. 

I  may  have  wandered  far  from  my  subject ;  but 
the  point  I  wish  to  make  is  that  the  attractiveness 
of  the  subject,  if  naturally  taught,  will  create  a 
genuine  enthusiastic  love  for  study,  and  develop 
the  closest  and  most  prolonged  attention,  thus  mak- 
ing the  will  of  the  teacher  a  secondary  and  subor- 
dinate element  in  school  government.  Opposed  to 
this  is  the  teaching  of  a  quantity  of  knowledge,  and 
the  acquisition  of  skill  without  regard  to  natural 
adaptation.  So  far  as  my  experience  goes,  most 
children  are  reading  in  books  far  above  their  range 
and  power  of  thinking.  They  are  going  through 
the  arithmetic  with  an  insufficient  knowledge  of  the 
elements.  They  are  learning  page  after  page  of 
generalizations  and  facts  that  mean  little  or  nothing 


i6o  Talks  on  Teaching, 

to  them.     The  teachers  are  preparing  words  for 
the   examination,   and  neglecting  to   prepare   the 
child  for  the  struggle  of  life. 
rewS?or^  °'       Sucli  teaching  7nust,  as  I  have  said,  be  enforced 
underthe^*     by  tlic  hope  of  rewards  or  the  fear  of  punishment. 
Quantity  ideal.  There  is  no  alternative.     The  glittering  bauble  of  a 
high  mark  or  a  diploma  must  lure  the  fainting  and 
famished  pupil  on,  or  the  rod  at  his  back  must 
drive  him.     Without  these  incentives  there  is  no 
motion.     Compare  the  sterility  and  barrenness  of 
stupid  word-learning  with  the  richness  and  variety 
which  the  full  action  of  all  the  mental  powers — 
observation,  judgment,  imagination,  and  reason — 
causes,  and  we  need  not  seek  farther  for  the  mo- 
tives that  induce  the  children  under  one  kind  of 
instruction  to  hate  school  and  learning,  and  under 
the  other  to  love  school- work  with  all  their  hearts. 
Answer  to         One  of  the  stale,  old,  often-repeated  stock  argu- 

the  argument  .      ,  ,        '  '_  ,  ,,  - 

for  stern        ments  IS  that  the  methods  used  are  those  oi  enter- 

discipline,  etc.      ,  i  i  i  -i  i 

tamment  and  pleasure;  that  the  child  must  be 
trained  to  face  the  stern  realities  of  life  by  strict 
discipline  and  hard  work.  This  objection  is  so 
venerable,  and  at  the  same  time  so  stupid,  that  it 
is  hardly  worth  the  time  it  takes  to  answer  it. 
Because  the  mind  finds  pleasure  in  natural  growth, 
ergo^  the  teaching  should  be  unnatural  in  order  to 
discipline  its  powers.  As  if  the  road  to  success  in 
life  lay  in  tormenting  the  child  Avith  all  the  sharp 
thorns  and  hard  pebbles  that  can  be  placed  therein ! 
Wliat  man  ever  made  a  true  success  in  this  world 
who  did  not  love  his  work,  and  pursue  it  witli  a 
genuine  enthusiasm?     Education  is  the  generation 


School  Government,  i6i 

of  power — power  to  overcome  obstacles,  power  to    The  purpose 
■*■  -^  .  ^01  education, 

toil,  and  struggle,  and  fight.    '  There  are  plenty  of 

real  obstacles  that  lie  in  the  pathway  of  human  de-    No  time  to 

^  "^  ^  ,  spend  upon 

velopment  and  progress  without  the  invention  of  a  made-up  ob- 
single  artificial  one.  The  entire  purpose  of  educa- 
tion consists  of  training  the  child  to  work,  to  work 
systematically,  to  love  work,  and  to  put  his  brains 
and  heart  into  work.  The  more  a  child  loves 
work  the  more  energy  he  will  bring  to  it.  The 
more  brains  he  puts  into  it  the  better  and  the  more 
economically  it  will  be  done. 

I  claim  two  tinners:  first,  that  there  is  not  one    work  best 

^  '  ^  adapted  to  tlie 

moment  to  spend  upon  anything  for  the  mere  sake  f^H^^  ^Sm. 

of  discipline  that  has  not  a  practical  use  in  the 
mind's  upbuilding;  second,  that  if  the  work  be 
adapted  to  the  state  of  mental  and  physical  power 
and  ability,  if  every  onward  movement  brings  suc- 
cess, if  the  work  be  real  (that  is,  upon  real  things, 
and  not  drudgery),  then  let  the  child  learn  to  do 
by  doing,  for  the  pleasure  of  doing  and  its  result- 
ant successes  best  fits  a  man  to  control  himself,  and 
master  all  the  difiiculties  and  obstacles  that  lie  be- 
fore him. 

I  am  aware  that  I  have  been  painting  an  ideal  to^ean'^^^ 
school  under  ideal  teaching.  Many  of  you,  no 
doubt,  are  anxiously  asking  the  question,  ' '  What 
shall  we  do  who  are  training  children  who  have 
not  had  the  benefits  of  the  kindergarten  and  the 
best  primary  teaching?  "  I  must  refer  you  for 
the  answer  to  this  important  question  to  the  other 
means  of  limiting  attention ;  i.  e. ,  your  wills  used 
in  governing  children  who   are  not  attracted   by 


1 62  Talks  on  Teaching. 

their  work.  ''  Fear  is  tlie  beginning  of  wisdom." 
The  first  important  element  on  your  part  necessary 
to  govern  a  school  well  is  self-control ;  the  second 
courage.  The  children,  after  the  innocence  of  the 
first  year  is  past,  have  formed  a  habit  that  leads  them 
stSdySread  *^  govern  you  if  you  cannot  govern  them.  They 
the  teaciier.  gtudy  you  as  soldiers  do  a  fortress  that  they  intend  to 
attack.  If  there  is  one  weak  point  indicated  by 
your  presence  in  movement,  attitude,  or  expression, 
they  will  make  the  charge  there.  If  you  can  be 
teased,  irritated,  or  made  angry,  they  will  find,  for 
want  of  better  things,  the  greatest  pleasure  in 
sticking  pins  (figurative)  into  the  weak  places  of 
your  moral  anatomy.  If  you  threaten,  they  take 
great  delight  in  listening  to  your  threats.  If  you 
scold,  they  will  invent  ways  of  perpetuating  the 
process.  But  if  they  see  in  you  a  quiet,  unalter- 
able determination  to  control  them,  softened  and 
strengthened  by  a  great  love  for  children,  in  most 
cases  their  surrender  will  be  complete  and  perma- 
nent; provided  you  have  already  at  hand  some 
nutritious  and  tasteful  food  in  the  way  of  good 
teaching  and  training.  Give  them  something  to 
do  the  first  moment  you  enter  the  school-room. 
Show  them  how  skilful  you  are  in  all  points  of 
technical  training  without  being  ostentatious,  and 
they  will  soon  forget  their  desire  to  badger  and 
control  you  in  the  pleasure  of  doing. 
The  auestion     But  perfect  courage  and  self-control  are  ideal 

of  corporal 

punisiimeiit.  again.  '*  What  if  I  haven't  these  qualities?  ''  you 
ask.  *  *  How  shall  I  meet  a  rebellious  boy  ?  ' ' 
You  see  I  cannot  avoid  the  great  question  of  cor- 


School  Government.  163 

poral  punishment.  Putting  it  in  its  right  place,  it 
is,  at  best,  but  a  poor  substitute  for  a  teacher's 
lack  of  moral  power  and  skill.  If  the  choice  be- 
tween anarchy,  misrule,  and  comparative  order 
must  be  made,  I  am  bound  to  recommend,  in  such 
cases,  the  judicious  use  of  a  good  rattan.  Corporal 
punishment  is  far  preferable  to  scolding :  that  turns 
a  school-room  into  a  perpetual  washing-day.  It  is 
preferable  to  many  inventions  that  have  been  dis- 
covered to  avoid  straightforward  punishment — such 
as  shutting  children  up  in  dark  closets,  making 
them  stand  for  hours  on  the  floor,  sending  them 
home,  or  keeping  them  after  school.  If  you  pun- 
ish in  anger,  you  simply  enhance  the  difiiculty. 
Anger  begets  anger.  The  sting  of  the  rod  must 
be  accompanied  by  the  genuine  sympathy  of  real 
love.  This  is  one  of  the  painful  subjects  which 
must  be  met  by  every  teacher  until  the  kinder- 
garten and  true  teaching  have  done  their  effectual 
work  with  the  little  children.  * '  Fear  is  the  begin- 
ning of  wisdom,"  but  ''Perfect  love  casteth  out 
fear!" 


TALK  XXV. 


MOEAL   TEuAJNING-. 


End  and  aim 
of  all  educa- 
tion. 


What  is 
character? 


Analysis 
into  habits. 


No  matter  how  much  educators  may  differ  in 
regard  to  the  means  and  metliods  of  teaching,  upon 
one  point  there  is  substantial  agreement ;  viz. ,  that 
the  end  and  aim  of  all  education  is  the  develop- 
ment of  character.  There  is,  also,  little  or  no  dif- 
ference of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  elements  that 
form  the  common  ideal  of  character.  Love  of 
truth,  justice,  and  mercy,  benevolence,  humility, 
energy,  patience,  and  self-control,  are  recognized 
the  world  over  as  some  of  the  essentials  that  should 
govern  human  action.  True  character  is  recognized 
and  felt  by  all  classes  and  conditions  of  society, 
though  they  may  be  incapable  of  its  analysis,  just 
as  the  lower  types  of  intellect  feel  the  power  of  the 
few  masterpieces  of  art  without  knowing  its  source. 

All  the  knowledge  and  skill  of  an  individual,  all 
he  thinks,  knows,  and  does,  is  manifested  in  his 
character.  Character  is  the  summation  of  all  these 
manifestations.  Character  is  the  expression  of  all 
that  is  in  the  mind,  and  it  may  be  analyzed  into 
habits.  A  habit  is  the  tendency  and  desire  to  do  that 
which  we  have  repeatedly  done  before.  A  habit, 
then,  consists  in  doing,  the  primary  foundation  of 

164 


Moral  Training,  165 

which  is  to  be  found  in  the  possibilities  for  action 
that  lie  latent  in  the  mind  of  the  new-born  child. 
The  environment  of  the  child  determines  the  kind, 
quality,  and  direction  of  its  mental  action.  Edu-  . 
cation  adapts  the  environment  by  limiting  it  to 
those  circumstances  which  lead  the  mind  to  act  in 
the  right  manner,  and  in  the  right  direction.  The 
mother  and  teacher,  be  it  through  ignorance  or 
knowledge,  determine  the  doing  of  the  child.  The 
true  teacher  leads  the  child  to  do  that  whicli  ought 
to  be  done.  The  famous  principle  of  Comenius : 
''  Things  that  have  to  be  done  should  be  learned 
by  doing  them,"  includes  in  its  category  the  whole 
truth  that  should  govern  every  parent  and  teacher 
in  building  the  character  of  a  child.  Everything 
that  may  determine  action,  be  it  religious  precepts, 
moral  maxims,  the  best  influences,  or  whatever  of 
good  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  child,  find 
their  limitations  in  what  they  inspire  and  stimulate 
the  child  to  do. 

The  opinion  prevails  among  many  teachers  that  ^j^ojjgatio^ 
intellectual  development  is  by  its  nature  separate 
and  distinct  from  moral  training.  Of  all  the  evils 
in  our  schools  this  terrible  mistake  is  productive  of 
the  greatest.  The  powers  of  the  mind  determine 
by  their  limitations  all  human  action.  There  is  no 
neutral  ground.  Every  thing  done  has  a  moral  or  Everything 
immoral  tendency.     That  is,  doinar  forms  bv  repeti-  has  a  moral  or 

11.  Til.  1  1  -r       immoral 

tion  a  habit,  and  habits  make  up  character.     Let  tendency, 
no  one  think  that  I  am  trenching  on  religious  or 
theological  grounds.     I  simply  repeat  what  I  have 
said  before;    the  greatest  truths  of  religion,   the 


1 66  Talks  on  Teaching, 

highest  forms  of  morality,  nature  and  art  with  all 
their  beauty,  can  do  no  more  than  stimulate,  inspire, 
direct,  and  ^x  mental  action.  This  action  may  be 
right  or  wrong.  If  right,  it  leads  upward  to  all 
that  is  good,  true,  and  beautiful.  If  wrong,  it  leads 
down  to  falsehood,  wickedness,  and  sin.  No 
teacher  should  say,  * '  I  train  the  intellect, ' '  and 
leave  moral  and  spiritual  teaching  to  others.  Eveiy 
act  of  the  teacher,  his  manner,  attitude,  character, 
all  that  he  does  or  says,  all  that  he  calls  upon  his 
pupils  to  do  or  say,  develops  in  a  degree  moral  or 
immoral  tendencies.  I  am  aware  that  this  is  a  very 
strong  statement.  I  may  not  be  able  to  prove  it 
entirely  to  your  satisfaction,  but  I  believe  it  with 
all  my  heart,  and  will  try  to  give  you  reasons  for 
the  faith  that  is  in  me. 
Importance       First  and  foremost  of  the  habits  to  be  acquired 

of  training  in  ^ 

self-control,  is  that  of  self -control,  and  to  self-control,  we  shall 
V  all  agree,  every  act  in  educating  the  child  should 
lead.  The  vices  that  ruin  mankind  are  the  bane- 
ful fruitage  of  the  lack  of  self-control ;  and  gener- 
ous, humanity-loving  people  spend  millions  to 
mitigate  the  evils  arising  from  this  lack.  An  ounce 
of  prevention  is  worth  a  ton  of  cure !  One  dollar 
spent  for  kindergartens  will  do  more  in  the  cause 
of  temperance  than  thousands  for  reform  schools  or 
Three  causes  Washingtonian  homes.     The  mind  is  controlled  by 

the  wiu.  three  causes :  First,  by  the  will  of  another.  Second, 
by  one's  own  desire,  whether  right  or  wrong. 
Third,  by  reason;  i.e.^  that  a  course  of  action  is 

control/ed  by  knowingly  right,  and  therefore  must  be  taken.     As 

Sacher."'^       I  said  in  the  talk   upon   school  govermnent,  the 


Moral  Training,  167 

mother  and  teaclier  must  be  the  will  of  the  child 
until  the  child's  reason,   or  knowledge  of  right, v 
leads  it  to  do  right  acts.     Otherwise  its  own  un- 
reasoning desire  will  govern  the  will  from  the  first. 
I  have  known  many  a  child  tired  and  jaded  by  the 
care  of  controlling  its  parents,  which  control  began 
when  it  first  cried  for  a  light  and  got  it,  and  con- 
tinued up   to  the   time  that   it   came   under    the 
influence  of  the  sweet,  strong  will  of  a  kind-hearted 
teacher — I  have   known  such  children  to   act  as 
though  a  great  burden  was  rolled  from  their  little 
shoulders  as  they  sat  and  worked,  at  last  in  perfect 
peace,  and  quietness ;  but,  alas,  only  to  go  home  and 
resume  the  reins  of  government !     The  child  finds 
true  happiness  alone  under  the  dominion  of  a  firm, 
steady,  reasonable  will  outside  of  himself. 
'     But  there  is  a  dangerous  and  delicate  point  be-  ^^\V^  ^^^^ 
yond  which  the  will  of  the  parent  or  teacher  must  yoution.^^ 
not  be  carried.     The  moment  a  child  can  act  from 
a  dictate  of  his  own  reason  that  tells  him  something 
is  right  the  superimposed  will  of  the  parent  should 
give  way  to  the  child's  own  volition.     The  law 
that  we  learn  to  do  by  doing  comes  in  here  with  ^ 
full  force.     The  importance  of  training  the  will  by 
developing  the  knowledge  of  right  cannot  be  over- 
rated.    The  knowledge  of  rip-ht  comes  from  lead-    Leading: 

1  .1  1.  1  1  rr^i  ,     .    cWld  to  know 

inff  the  mmd  to  discover  the  truth.     The  truth  is  and  do  the 
.     .  right. 

of  no  use  unless  it  is  expressed  in  action.  The  op- 
portunities for  this  action  at  home  and  in  school  are 
innumerable.  These  opportunities  should  be  seized 
upon  and  used  by  the  mother  or  teacher  as  means 
of   training   self-control.      I   cannot  repeat  often 


1 68  Talks  on  Teaching, 

enough  the  great  truth  that  we  learn  to  do  by 
doing.  If  a  child  be  selfish,  he  has  acquired  the 
habit  by  selfish  acts.  The  wrong  tendency  may,  it 
is  true,  be  inborn,  but  the  habit  is  acquired  by 
Hawtuai       selfish  doiuff.     A  bad  habit  can  be  cured  only  by 

wrong -doing:  o  j      j 

hawtnS^  ^y    repetitions  of   good   acts  directly    opposed   to   it. 

right-doing.  Tlius  a  selfish  child  may  be  given  many  opportuni- 
ties to  perform  benevolent  and  generous  acts. 
Cruelty  may  be  turned  into  loving-kindness  and 
mercy  in  the  same  way.  In  the  school  we  find  all 
the  primary  elements  of  society,  but  lacking  the 
conventionalities  of  the  grown-up  world ;  and  here 

knowing^the'  the  cliild  acts  out  his  nature  freely.     The  eager, 

naturef *  ^^*  searching  eye  of  the  teacher,  fixed  upon  the  good 
of  the  child's  soul,  rather  than  the  quantity  of 
knowledge  to  be  gained,  sees  through  the  mass  of 
her  little  ones,  into  the  weakness  of  each  individual. 
The  order,  the  writing,  the  reading,  the  number 
lessons,  the  play-ground,  all  furnish  countless  occa- 
sions where  the  child  may  be  led  to  act. in  the  right 
way  from  right  motives.  Selfishness  may  be  turned 
V  to  benevolence,  cnielty  to  love,  deceit  to  honesty, 
sullenness  to  cheerfulness,  conceit  to  humility,  and 
obstinacy  to  compliance  by  the  careful  leading  of 
the  child's  heart  to  the  right  emotion.  But  in  this 
work,  the  mast  responsible  of  all  human  under- 
takings, we  cannot  afford  to  experiment;  there  is 
one  indispensable  requirement — the  teacher  must 
know  the  child  and  its  nature. 
iratnrai  The  true  method  of  teaching  is  the  exact  adapta- 

methodsde-        .  -    ,  ,  .  ,  -  , 

fined.  tion  of  the  subject  taught,  or  means  of  growth,  to 

the  learning  mind.     The  mind  can  best  grow  in 


Moral  Training,  169 

only  one  way.  If  the  adaptation  of  the  subject  to 
the  mind  is  wrong,  the  action  of  the  mind  is  im- 
paired and  weakened  by  inefiectual  attempts  to 
grasp  it ;  and  then  the  will  of  the  teacher  is  obliged 
to  come  in  with  artificial  stimulants  to  unhealthy 
mental  action.  Under  such  conditions  real  essential  m^fodf im- 
happiness  that  must  come  from  the  child's  right  gj^^^j^jj.^^^^ 
emotions  is  wanting ;  and  the  subject  becomes  in 
itself  an  object  of  disHke  and  disgust  to  the  child. 
Such  teaching,  I  hold,  must  be  of  its  very  nature 
immoral.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the  mind  is  in  methodJen- 
the  full  tide  of  healthy  normal  action,  when  it  loves  e??"owe?for 
what  it  does,  and  does  what  it  loves,  the  leading  ^'^^*' 
power  of  the  teacher  in  right  directions  is  enhanced 
to  an  incalculable  degree.  If  the  teacher  knows 
the  child,  and  her  heart  lies  close  to  the  child's 
heart,  every  motion  of  his  mental  and  moral  pulse, 
every  desire  to  do  wrong  or  right,  will  always  be 
felt  by  her.  However  much  the  teacher  may  de- 
sire to  help  the  child,  however  strong  her  own 
moral  or  religious  feelings  may  be,  wrong  methods 
and  misapplied  teaching  stand  as  formidable  barriers 
between  herself  and  the  child.  Many  a  father  who 
would  have  given  his  life  for  his  boy  has,  simply 
because  he  did  not  understand  his  child's  nature, 
failed  in  his  method  of  training,  and  driven  the 
boy  to  ruin.  The  will  of  a  parent  may  deprive  the 
child  of  the  use  of  his  reason  so  long  that  when  the 
controlling  will  is  removed  the  child  finds  himself 
weak  and  helpless,  a  prey  to  any  stronger  will  that 
may  choose  to  master  him. 

Primary  education  consists,  as  I  have  said,  in 


I70  Talks  on  Teaching, 

Attractive-  trainiiic;  the  power  of  attention.     The  attractiveness 

ness  in  subject  ^  ^ 

tJauendf^^^  of  the  object  attended  to  controls  the  will.  The 
desire  to  attend  is  thus  aroused,  making  it  possible 
for  the  mind  to  exert  more  and  more  power  in  such 
acts,  until  the  reason  comes  in  to  govern  the  will, 
enabling  the  mind  to  concentrate  itself  whenever 
required.  The  boy  who  is  trained  to  solve  a  diffi- 
cult problem  bj  a  long  and  labored  struggle  with 
the  thought,  stimulated  only  by  the  desire  that 
comes  from  former  successes  to  gain  a  new  victory, 
has  a  will  trained  by  reason  in  a  high  degree. 
You  may  say  that  this  boy,  notwithstanding  his 
power  in  one  direction,  might  perform  immoral 
Doine  acts ;   and  you  are  right.     The  energy  generated  in 

of  diSng  forms  one  direction,  if  it  be  not  broadened  and  deepened 
in  all  other  right  ways,  may  be  fatal  to  the  welfare 
of  the  possessor.  Lead  and  train  a  child  to  do  one 
good  thing  thoroughly,  through  love  of  doing,  and 
you  have  a  central  force  of  moral  power  that  can 
be  turned  into  all  doing. 

forcedSust        Let  US  look  for  a  moment  on  the  other  side  of 

gi^d  demor  -  ^|^.g  q^^gg^^Qj^^     Q-o^j  j^^g  g^  created  the  mind  that 

healthy  moral,  mental,  and  physical  exercise  pro- 
duces pleasure ;  this  truth  I  believe  cannot  be  gain- 
said. If  the  work  be  not  adapted  to  the  grasp  of 
the  pupil,  this  pleasurable  stimulant  is  lacking,  and 
artificial  stimulants  must  be  used.  I  have  dis- 
cussed, in  a  former  talk,  the  use  of  fear  in  govern- 
ing children.  I  need  but  appeal  to  all  those  into 
whose  heads  knowledge  has  been  driven  by  the  ter- 
ror of  punishment  to  obtain  the  strongest  testi- 
mony that  such  a  course  invariably  disgusts  children 


Moral  Training,  171 

with  learning,  and  defeats  tlie  ends  it  seeks  to  pro- 
mote. The  ubiquitous  croaker  now  arises  with  hiSart?S^Sii 
single,  ever  reiterated  poser :  ' '  Webster,  Clay,  SS)ds.°^*^ 
Sumner,  and  all  our  greatest,  were  educated  in  the 
old  ways,  why  require  better  methods  when  we  can 
point  to  such  results  as  these?  "  My  dear  sir,  you 
can  count,  it  is  true,  a  few  saved  and  successful 
men  and  women,  but  is  your  power  of  calculation 
great  enough  to  count  the  failures,  the  lost?  It  is 
time  for  us,  teachers,  to  call  a  halt !  All  about  us 
are  men  and  women  who  find  themselves  to-day 
crippled  for  want  of  that  power  which  their  school- 
training  should  have  given  them.  You  feel  the 
same  lack,  and  so  do  I.  ]N"ow  these  men  and 
women  have  risen  up  and  are  demanding  better 
things  for  their  children.  We  have  but  to  look  to 
see  the  handwriting  on  the  wall :  ' '  Thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting. ' ' 

The  other  artificial  stimulant  is  the  hope  of  re-  of  the  system 
ward  in  the  shape  of  merits,  per  cents,  prizes — etc. 
glittering  empty  baubles;  sugar-coated  but  bitter 
pills !  I  have  not  time  to  point  out  in  detail  the 
immoral  influences  of  these  false  stimulants.  I 
will  allude  to  one,  and  that  is  the  common  tendency 
in  examinations  to  appropriate  others'  earnings. 
'  How  common  this  is  you  all  know,  from  primary 
school  to  college.  Ponies,  cuffs,  hidden  slips  of 
paper,  sly  glances  at  books,  promptings,  and  the 
thousand  and  one  means  to  present  stolen  results, 
all  testify  to  the  prevalence  of  this  evil.  This  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  systematic  training  in 
habits  of  dishonesty.     I  have  no  doubt  that  many 


17^  Talks  on  Teaching, 

of  the  frauds  and  defalcations  so  common  at  pres- 
ent in  tliis  country  may  be  traced  directly  back  to 
the  well-meant  but  dishonest  training  in  the  school- 
room. 
^T^^h should  Truth  should  govern  the  will,  and  the  great 
will.  work  of  the  teacher  is  to  guide  the  child  in  his 

discoveries  of  truth.  The  habit  of  searching,  iind- 
V  ing,  and  using  the  truth,  then,  is  one  of  the  first 
importance.  Truth  sets  the  child  free,  and  leads 
him  to  the  source  of  all  truth.  The  highest  free- 
dom is  obedience  to  God.  The  learning  of  words 
and  pages  of  the  text-books,  without  the  privilege 
of  verifying  the  facts  and  generalizations  there 
given,  weakens  the  reasoning  power  that  should  be 
developed  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the  will, 
to^w^k  *find  ^  ^^  ^^*  ^^^®  refer  to  religious  truths,  but  to  the 
^utS!^^^  habit  of  seeking  and  prizing  the  truth  wherever 
found  in  the  branches  taught  in  our  common 
cchools.  If  this  habit  is  formed  there,  it  will  be 
carried  into  the  affairs  of  politics  and  society.  For 
instance,  a  man  so  trained  will  vote,  2iot  because 
he  happens  to  belong  to  a  party,  or  because  he  be- 
lieves the  ipse  dixit  of  a  leader,  but  because, 
through  force  of  habit,  he  will  discover  from  all 
the  sources  of  information  that  lie  in  his  power 
what  the  truth  really  is,  and  exercise  his  riglit  to 
vote  accordingly.  *'  Put  that  you  would  have  the 
state  into  the  school,"  is  an  old  German  maxim. 
Americans  must  learn  to  apply  this  saying  in  a 
vigorous  way,  or  our  politics,  from  their  downward 
tendency,  will  reach  in  no  far  distant  day  their 
lowest  level. 


Moral  Training.  173 

There   are  two   factors    in   education,  thouojlit   Effect  when 

'    ,    ,     ^      precisioms 

and  expression.  Most  teaching  is  the  training  of  ^^^^  ^* 
the  skill  to  express  thought,  with  little  or  no  regard 
to  the  thought  itself.  Precision  is  an  indispensable 
mode  of  training  skill  in  writing,  drawing,  position, 
and  accurate  ways  of  acting ;  but  when  the  train- 
ing of  precision  is  made  the  main  motive  of  school- 
work,  when  the  ways  a  child  sits,  places  his  feet, 
holds  his  hands,  stares  at  a  book,  stands  up,  marches, 
utters  a  sentence,  etc. ,  are  the  be  all  and  end  all  in 
the  teacher's  plan  of  work,  then  precision  invades 
the  sacred  realm  of  thought  evolution,  and  the 
mind's  power  to  act  is  crushed  and  crippled.  I 
have  seen  schools  of  this  description  where  the  re- 
sults would  be  grand  if  the  systematic  clockwork- 
like operations  were  performed  with  puppets, 
instead  of  living  human  beings.  Such  training 
educates  the  willing  followers  of  demagogues, 
prompt  to  march  when  the  commanding  boss  gives 
the  word. 

Conceit  is  another  outgrowth  of   this  quantity    conceit  an- 
ideal.     The  spectacle  is  a  common  one  of  a  young  s:rowth  of  tie 
man,  the  model  of  his  class,  persistent  and  alert,  i<ieai. 
possessed  of  a  powerful  verbal  memory,  which  en- 
ables him  to  cram  page  after  page  of  the  text-book, 
distancing  all  competitors,  carrying  olf  all  the  class 
honors,  and  finally,  armed  with  his  sheepskin  (his 
Alma  Mater's  gracious  indorsement  of  his  wonder- 
ful attainments)  confidently  stepping  out  into  the 
world,  never  questioning  but  that  he  will  conquer 
in  the  new  life  as  easily  as  he  did  in  the  old.     But 
the  first  spear-thrust  of  reality  shivers  his  panoply  of 


174  Talks  on  Teaching, 

emtpy  words,  and  leaves  him  defenceless  before  tlie 
rigorous  demands  of  an  uncompromising  world. 
*^  The  long  perspective  of  our  life  is  truth,  and  not  a 
show;"  and  I  hold  that  sort  of  teaching  in  the 
highest  degree  immoral  which  crams  the  heads  of 
our  children  with  the  unusual  pages  of  text-books, 
and  then  leads  them  to  suppose  that  they  are 
The  greatest  gaining  real  knowledge.  By  making  quantity  our 
knowledge,  ideal  we  develop  and  foster  conceit:  and  conceit 
is  one  of  the  most  formidable  barriers  to  true 
knowledge. 

Inspire  them  to  seek  earnestly  for  the  truth,  and 
develop  in  them  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  human 
virtues — humihty.  ' '  The  meek  shall  inherit  the 
earth,"  said  the  Great  Teacher.  He  alone  is 
really  learning  who  feels  the  immensity  of  the 
truth,  and  realizes  that  all  he  knows  or  can  know 
in  this  world  is  but  as  a  drop  to  the  great  ocean  of 
truth  that  stretches  boundless  and  fathomless  into 
Necessity  for  eternity .     The   teacher,  above  all  others,    should   . 

constant  study  -^  '  '  j 

tSe^e^cSr**^  constantly  be  adding  to  his  store  of  knowledge;    I 
and  he  who  imagines  that  he  has  no  more  to  learn 
in  the  art  of  teaching  is  fit  only  to  take  his  small    i 
place  among  other  fossils.  -• 

lectlon^of  Ob-  Primary  education  consists,  as  I  have  repeatedly 
thought  pre-  ^^*^^^  *^  show,  in  the  development  of  the  power  of 
sented.  attention:  and   it  will   be   plain   to   all    tliat  the 

selection  of  the  objects  of  thouglit  and  attention 
is  a  matter  of  the  liighest  importance.  The  things 
presented  must  be  pure,  good,  and  beautiful,  for 
tliat  to  which  we  attend  comes  into  the  heart,  and 
forms  the  basis  of  all  our  thinking  and  imagination ; 


Moral  Training,  175 

' '  Out  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh. ' '     Where    Basis  of 
shall  we  look  for  the  highest  source  of  the  good,  imagrinaUon. 
the  true,  and  the  beautiful?     To  the  thoughts  of 
God  in  nature.     The  study  of  nature  is  the  best    study  of 

•^  ^  ^  nature  as  a 

and  highest  foundation  for  morality,  and  a  prepara-  gJ^tJai*^  ^^^ 
tion  for  the  revealed  truth  that  comes  to  the  child  srrowtn. 
later  in  life.     Compare  the  drill  upon  hieroglyphics, 
empty  words,  and  meaningless  forms  with  the  ob- 
servation of  trees,  flowers,  animals,  and  the  forms 
of  earth.     The  one  stimulates  thought,   and   fills 
the  mind  with  ideas  of  beauty ;  the  other  crowds 
the   mind  with   useless,   ugly  forms  that   cannot, 
from   their  very  nature,   stimulate  it  to  renewed 
action.     A  child's  mind,  filled  with  that  which  is^f^^^^^i^ 
pure  and  good,  has  no  room  for  wickedness  and  lo^room^Ior^ 
sin.     The  study  of  the  natural  sciences  is  one  of  the  ®^^* 
best  means  of  bringing  about  this  result.     Did  you 
ever  observe  the  character  of  a  boy  who  early  fell 
in  love  with  nature,  and  who  spent  his  spare  hours 
with  plants,  or  animals,  seeking  for  their  haunts, 
watching  their  habits,  and  making  collections  for 
preservation?     Such  boys,  so  far  as  I  have  known, 
are  genuinely  good.     They  have  neither  the  time 
nor  the  inclination  for  evil-doing.     The  study  of 
the  thoughts  of  God  in  nature,  filling  the  mind,  as 
it  does,  with  things  of  beauty,  prepares  the  imagina- 
tion for  clear  and  strong  conceptions  of  the  higher 
and  spiritual  life. 

Let  no  one  misunderstand  me,  or  imagine  for  a   Teacher  a 
moment   that  I  mean  to  limit  moral   training   to  ject  lesson  to 
these  subjects.     Far  from  it.     I  am  only  trying  to 
show  how  all  these  things  may  be  used  in  develop- 


176 


Talks  on  Teaching, 


Tendency  of 
children  to 
read  vicious 
literature. 


Its  cause 
and  core. 


ing  tnie  character.  Children  leara  very  much  by 
imitation.  The  teacher,  whether  good  or  bad,  leaves 
his  everlasting  imprint  on  every  child  under  his 
care.  He  can  conceal  nothing  from  the  intuitional 
power  of  the  child.  Whatever  you  are  becomes 
immortal  through  the  souls  of  your  pupils.  The 
precepts  of  a  true  teacher  have  immense  weight ; 
but  the  example  has  a  still  greater. 

A  fact  very  much  bemoaned  and  bewailed  in 
these  times  is  that  children  love  to  read  trashy 
literature ;  that  they  read  Dime  E'ovels,  sensational 
newspapers,  and  stories  like  The  Kobber  of  the 
Bloody  Gulch  or  The  Eed  Handed  Pirate  of  the 
Spanish  Main.  This  unwholesome  and  vicious 
tendency  is  almost  wholly  caused,  I  believe,  by  the 
neglect  of  school  authorities  to  furnish  a  gener- 
ous supply  of  pure,  interesting  literature  to  the 
schools  under  their  charge.  I  know  a  superin- 
tendent of  schools  who  often  waxes  eloquent  over 
the  vices  engendered  by  such  reading.  I  once 
visited  his  schools,  and  found  his  pupils  learning  to 
spell  column  after  column,  and  page  after  page,  of 
words,  one  tenth  of  which  they  probably  never 
would  use  in  their  lives.  I  satisfied  myself  that 
these  poor  victims  hardly  knew  the  meaning  of  one 
word  the  forms  of  which  they  were  struggling  over. 
The  money  expended  for  those  spelling-books 
would  have  purchased  a  rich  supply  of  excellent 
reading;  and  the  time  thrown  away  in  conning 
that  fearful  book,  if  used  in  reading  the  best  liter- 
ature, would  have  rendered  unnecessary  some  of 
that  superintendent's  eloquent  and  pathetic  periods 


Moral  Training,  I'j'j 

in  regard  to  tlie  miseries  caused  by  reading  sensa- 
tional works.  An  entire  year  of  the  little  child's 
life  is  generally  given  to  the  reading  of  one  book, 
not  much  thicker  than  my  little  finger.  Let  a 
child  read  a  selection  twice  or  three  times,  and  he 
knows  every  word  by  heart.  He  can  after  that 
read  his  lesson  with  the  book  upside  down.  I  once 
tested  one  of  the  best  schools  in  this  country.  The 
pupils  read  very  well  indeed ;  I  asked  them  to  close 
their  books,  and  as  soon  as  they  understood  what 
I  wanted  they  repeated  every  word,  verbatim, 
with  great  gusto,  simply  by  my  reading  one  word 
anywhere  in  the  book.  They  knew  that  book  from 
beginning  to  end  ;  and  yet,  following  the  course  of 
study,  they  must  repeat  those  words,  over  and  over 
again,  for  five  long  months !  We  are  paying  millions 
of  dollars  in  this  country  for  such  worse  than 
stupid  and  useless  repetitions.  A  class  will  read  a  Plea  for  sup- 
Primary  Keader  through  in  a  very  short  time,  reading. 
The  cost  of  a  dozen  different  series  of  books  (bought 
by  the  school  authorities)  is  not  so  great  as  the 
price  paid  by  the  children  for  the  Eeaders  of  a 
single  series.  Every  school  can  and  should  have 
a  good  library,  made  of  sets  of  different  books, 
embracing  the  best  Eeaders;  works  on  natural 
history  adapted  to  children,  such  as  Prang's  little 
books,  '^Little  Folks  in  Feathers  and  Fur," 
^'Life  and  Her  Children,"  and  ^'The  Fairyland 
of  Science  ' ' ;  primary  geographies,  like  ' '  Our 
World, ' '  and  Guy  of  s  ' '  Introduction ' ' ;  histories ; 
books  of  travel ;  poetry,  and  the  best  fiction.  In 
my  experience  it  is  the  easiest  of  all  problems  to 


178 


Talks  071  Teaching, 


Train  cWl 
dren  to  love 
work. 


Natural  lovehncf 
of  child  for  ex  '^^^^ 


lead  children  to  read,  and  to  love  to  read,  the  very 
best  literature.  If  the  hours  devoted  to  the  spell- 
ing-book, to  useless  repetitions  of  words  already 
learned,  were  spent  in  the  perusal  of  the  best  books, 
children  would  never  feel  the  necessity  for  the  trash 
they  read,  whose  baneful  influence  is  immeasurable. 
In  my  talk  upon  School  Government  I  said  that 
the  end  and  aim  of  school  education  is  to  train  a 
child  to  work,  to  work  systematically,  to  love  work, 
and  to  put  his  brains  into  work.  The  clearest  ex- 
pression of  thought  is  expression  in  the  concrete. 
Working  with  the  hands  is  one  great  means  of 
prhnary  development.  It  is  also  one  of  the  very 
means  of  moral  training.  From  the  first 
concreS.^^  ^^*  ^^^^y  child  has  an  intense  desire  to  express  his 
thought  in  some  other  way  than  in  language. 
Froebel  discovered  this,  and  founded  the  kinder- 
garten. ]S'o  one  can  deny  that  true  kindergarten 
training  is  moral  training.  Ideas  and  thoughts 
come  into  the  mind  demanding  expression.  The 
use  of  that  which  is  expressed,  to  the  child,  is  the 
means  it  gives  him  to  compare  his  thought  with 
its  concrete  expression.  The  expression  of  the 
form  made,  compared  with  the  ideal,  stimulates  to 
further  trials.  In  making  and  building  is  found 
the  best  means  of  trainmg  attention. 

I  wish  to  make  a  sharp  distinction  here  between 
real  work  and  drudgery.  Real  work  is  done  on 
real  things,  producing  tangible  results,  results  that 
are  seen  and  felt.  Real  work  is  adapted  at  every 
step  to  the  child's  power  to  do.  Every  struggle 
brings  success,   and  makes  better  work   possible. 


Distinction 
hetween  real 
work  and 
Drudgery. 


Moral  Training,  179 

Drudgery,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  forced  action 
of  the  mind  upon  that  which  is  beyond  mental 
grasp,  upon  words  that  cannot  be  apprehended, 
upon  lessons  not  understood.  Drudgery  consists 
mainly  of  the  monotonous  use  of  the  verbal  memory. 
There  is  no  variety ;  not  a  bush  or  shrub  along  the 
pathway.  This  is  the  kind  of  study  that  produces 
ill-health.  It  is  the  straining  of  the  mind  upon 
disliked  subjects,  with  the  single  motive  to  gain 
applause,  rewards,  and  diplomas.  Thousands  of 
nervous,  earnest,  faithful  girls,  spurred  on  by  un- 
wise parents,  yearly  lose  their  lives,  or  become 
hopeless  invalids,  in  this  costly  and  useless  struggle. 
Keal  work  stimulates  every  activity  of  mind  and 
body.  It  furnishes  the  variety  so  necessary  to 
interest,  and  is  like  true  physical  development  that 
exercises  every  muscle  and  strengthens  the  whole 
man.  Real  work  is  always  interesting,  hke  real 
play.  No  matter  how  earnest  the  striving  may  be, 
it  is  followed  by  a  glow  of  genuine  pleasurable 
emotion. 

There  is  great  outcry  against  our  schools  ^^^  Qf^^^% 
colleges,  caused  by  the  suspicion  that  they  educate  ™^^^i^^°^- 
children  to  be  above  manual  labor.  This  suspicion 
is  founded  upon  fact,  I  am  sorry  to  say ;  but  the 
statement  of  the  fact  is  not  correct.  Children  are 
educated  lelow  manual  labor.  The  vague,  mean- 
ingless things  they  learn  are  not  adapted  to  real 
work ;  no  effectual  habits  of  labor  are  formed  by 
rote- learning.  The  student's  desire  is  too  often, 
when  he  leaves  school  or  college,  to  get  a  living  by 
means  of  empty  words.     The  wox'ld  has  little  or 


3 


i8o  *        Talks  on  Teaching, 

no  use  for  such  rubbish.  That  man  should  gain 
his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  is  a  curse 
changed  to  the  highest  possible  blessing.  The 
clergyman,  the  lawyer,  the  physician,  the  teacher, 
need  the  benefit  of  an  early  training  in  manual 
labor  quite  as  much  as  the  man  who  is  to  labor 
with  his  hands  all  his  life.  /Manual  labor  is  the 
foundation  of  clear  thinking,  sound  imagination, 
and  good  health.  There  should  be  no  real  differ- 
ence between  the  methods  of  our  common  schools 
and  the  methods  of  training  in  manual  labor 
schools.  A  great  mistake  has  been  made  in  sepa- 
rating them.  All  school-work  should  be  real  work. 
We  learn  to  do  by  doing.  * '  Satan  finds  some 
mischief  still  for  idle  hands  to  do."  The  direct 
influence  of  real  work  is  to  absorb  the  attention  in 
the  things  to  be  done,  leaving  no  room  in  the  con- 
sciousness for  idleness  and  its  consequent  vices. 
Out  of  real  work  the  child  develops  a  motive  that 
directs  his  life-work.  Doing  work  thoroughly  has 
a  great  moral  influence.  One  piece  of  work  well 
done,  one  subject  well  mastered,  makes  the  mind 
far  stronger  and  better  than  a  smattering  of  all  the 
branches  taught  in  our  schools.  School- work  and 
manual  labor  have  been  for  a  long  time  divorced ;  I 
predict  that  the  time  is  fast  coming  when  they 
will  be  joined  in  indissoluble  bonds.  The  time,  too, 
is  coming  when  ministers  will  urge  upon  their 
hearers  the  great  importance  of  manual  labor  as  a 
means  of  spiritual  growth.  At  no  distant  date  in- 
dustrial rooms  will  become  an  indispensable  part  of 
©very  good  school ;  the  work  of  the  head  and  skill 


Moral  Training,  i8i 

of  the  hand  will  be  joined  in  class-room  and  work-  < 
shop  into  one  comprehensive  method  of  developing 
harmoniously  the  powers  of  body,  mind,  and  soul. 
If  you  would  develop   morality  in  the  child,  train 
him  to  work.  / 

In  all  that  I  have  said,  and  whatever  mistakes  I  ^^®*  words, 
have  made  either  in  thought  or  expression,  I  have 
had  but  one  motive  in  my  heart,  and  that  is  that 
the  dear  children  of  our  common  country  may  re- 
ceive at  our  hands  a  development  of  intellectual, 
moral,  and  spiritual  power  that  will  enable  them 
to  fight  hfe's  battle,  to  be  thoughtful,  conscientious 
citizens,  and  prepare  them  for  all  that  may  come 
thereafter.  Whatever  we  would  have  our  pupils 
we  must  be  ourselves. 


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